Study reveals economic impact of Greeley-Weld Airport

A recent study has revealed that the Greeley-Weld County Airport contributes more than $120.8 million to Greeley and Weld County economy annually.

The study was a part of economic impacts of aviation throughout Colorado, performed by Wilbur Smith Associates through a Colorado Aeronautical Board grant. It examined the individual economic output of each of Colorado’s 74 public airports.

Tenants, users, and local businesses throughout Greeley and Weld County were surveyed over the past year, and addressed their use, expenditures, and employment, which were tied in numerous ways to the presence of the Greeley-Weld County Airport.

It showed the Greeley-Weld Airport is responsible for 1,766 jobs throughout the region, with a total annual payroll of more than $65 million and more than $120.8 million in annual economic output annually.

A 1998 economic impact study showed that the airport was responsible for 349 jobs in the region, with a payroll of $8 million and $28 million of economic activity.
Between 1996 and 2003, the airport undertook and completed a $23 million expansion.

The city of Greeley and Weld County jointly invested about $2.5 million in the expansion, in large part to ensure that the airport was capable of serving the region as an economic engine.

The study also identified that statewide, the impacts of aviation account for more than 340,000 jobs, $11.1 billion in payroll, and $32.2 billion in economic output.