Industry earnings are incomes received by people who are directly involved with producing goods and services. Earnings, referred to also as "labor and proprietors income", include (1) wage and salary disbursements, (2) other labor income such as employer contributions to private retirement and medical insurance programs, and (3) the net incomes of proprietors (i.e., the owners of unincorporated enterprises).

In contrast to the more frequently cited employment data, earnings data more accurately reflect qualitative differences in labor's contributions toward the production of goods and services, namely the productivity differences reflected in variations in earnings per job. Earnings data, therefore, are better for comparing and tracking long-term trends and identifying short-run shifts in the level and composition of economic activity within and among counties.

Just like the employment data compiled by BEA, earnings data are reported on a place-of-work, or more accurately on a place-where-earned, basis.

Note: the BEA earnings data presented and discussed here in the context of comparing and assessing the economic growth and performance of county and regional economies are entirely separate and apart from--and should not be confused with--corporate earnings, which are compiled from the balance sheets of individual private corporations.

Figure 1 depicts Broomfield County's annual total industry earnings over 2003-2022 in current and constant (2017) dollars. Constant dollar measurements remove the effects of inflation. They allow for comparison of changes in the real purchasing power of Broomfield County over time.

When measured in current dollars, Broomfield County's total industry earnings increased 259.15%, from $1,702M in 2003 to $6,115M in 2022. When measured in constant 2017 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 141.08%, from $2,186M in 2003 to $5,269M in 2022.

Figure 2 traces Broomfield County's and Colorado's annual real total industry earnings for the period 2002-2022 to illustrate real total industry earnings patterns over time. During this 21-year period, Broomfield County's real total industry earnings rose from $2,112M in 2002 to $5,269M in 2022, for a net gain of $3,157M, or 149.46%. In comparison, Colorado's real total industry earnings advanced from $161,448M in 2002 to $271,035M in 2022, for a net gain of $109,587M, or 67.88%.

Figure 3 shows Broomfield County's real total industry earnings growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Colorado, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's real total industry earnings in 2002 as a base figure of 100, and the real total industry earningss in later years as a percentage of the 2002 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in real total industry earnings growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.

Broomfield County's overall real total industry earnings growth was 149.46% over 2002-2022 outpaced Colorado's increase of 67.88%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 42.81%.

Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the total industry earnings growth of Broomfield County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Colorado's statewide total industry earnings over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's total industry earnings grew faster, or declined less, than Colorado's total industry earnings, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.

In 2002, Broomfield County's total industry earnings comprised 1.31% of Colorado's total industry earnings, while in 2022 it totaled 1.94% thereby yielding a +0.64% share-shift.

Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of Broomfield County's real total industry earnings growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 2003-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 20-year period is also illustrated on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.

On average, Broomfield County's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 4.83% over 2003-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 2017 (16.85%) and posted its lowest growth in 2018 (-7.51%). In 2022, Broomfield County's real total industry earnings grew by 2.17%

Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again traces the annual percent change in Broomfield County's real total industry earnings since 2003, but this time they are displayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 2010s, and 2020-2022.

During the 2010s, Broomfield County's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 5.19%. It averaged 3.81% thus far this decade (2020-2022).

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Broomfield County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Colorado and the nation. As the chart reveals, Broomfield County's average annual real total industry earnings growth outpaced Colorado's average throughout the 2010s (5.19% vs. 3.91%), and registered above Colorado's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (3.81% vs. 3.54%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, Broomfield County outgained the nation throughout the 2010s (5.19% vs. 2.53%), and recorded above the nation over 2020-2022 (3.81% vs. 1.48%).