The Centennial State slipped to the No. 5spot in CNBC's 2011 edition of America's Top States for Business, having placed third last year.
Competitors aside, Colorado improved its own overall score by 56 points (1,512) from a year ago, only to finish one point behind the No. 4 state this year.
The Centennial State took its largest forward leap in the Infrastructure & Transportation category.
Yet Colorado fell from its 2010 rankings in six of the 10 categories, including Cost of Doing Business, Quality of Life, Economy, Education, Technology & Innovation, and Business Friendliness.
By far the largest fall came from the State Economy category, pushing Colorado 18 spots lower on the pecking order.
Complete Rankings: 20102009 20082007