Economic uncertainty and challenges are hardly new to Boulder. Over the decades, the community has weathered recessions, technology cycles, natural disasters, political changes and global disruptions. As economic signals grow noisier and forecasts more cautious, many communities and businesses are asking the same question: How do we prepare for what comes next?

In her presentation at the Boulder Chamber Economic Council’s annual Economic Forecast event, State Demographer Kate Watkins made it clear that Boulder is experiencing a surge in the population of residents at the traditional retirement age of 65 and older. Between today and 2060, the trend line indicates we will see a 10% increase in that proportion of our population.

The estimated financial losses for businesses as a result of the outages averaged about $25,000, according to the survey, which had nearly 300 respondents, 86% of whom claimed to have experienced a business interruption. Nine respondents reported $100,000 or more in negative impacts.