Metro by metro
The leading bookstore chains in every Colorado metro area
Tracked bookstore chains ranked by consumer spend in each metro area, Q4 2025–Q3 2026. Barnes & Noble leads in all 4 metro areas with enough data. Against their share in Colorado as a whole, Barnes & Noble stands out in 2 metro areas.
By tracked consumer spend, Q4 2025–Q3 2026
-
Barnes & Noble
Relative #1 in 2 metro areas
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO 1× · Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 1.1×
Not enough tracked stores: Grand Junction, CO · Greeley, CO · Pueblo, CO
No ranked chain with 5% of the metro area's spend and 3 stores there: Boulder, CO · Colorado Springs, CO
-
Barnes & Noble
#1 in all 4 metro areas
Not enough tracked stores: Grand Junction, CO · Greeley, CO · Pueblo, CO
A metro area shows a ranking once it has at least 2 tracked bookstore chains and 10 tracked stores. Relative to Colorado compares a chain's share of the metro area's spend with its share in Colorado as a whole. It ranks the 7 biggest chains in Colorado and the chains that lead a metro area by spend, wherever a chain has at least 5% of the metro area's spend and 3 stores there. Metro areas are the Census Bureau's metropolitan statistical areas; the rest of Colorado is light gray. Colors match the store map; other tracked chains are gray.
Growth ranking
Fastest-growing tracked bookstore chains
Ranked by year-over-year growth of share of tracked local spend. Arrows show movement in the rankings since last year. Each dot in the chart is one tracked chain: bigger market position to the right, faster growth higher up, more tracked stores in a bigger dot. Colors match the store map below. 2nd & Charles and Barnes & Noble sit in the high-growth half.
| Rank | Chain | Rank movement | YoY growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2nd & Charles | - | +14.0% |
| 2 | Barnes & Noble | - | -1.4% |
- Barnes & Noble
- 2nd & Charles
- Boulder Book Store
- CU Book Store
- Mardel Christian & Education
- CSU Bookstore
- Mile High Comics
- Other tracked chains
Store footprint
Store map
172 tracked store locations in Colorado. The 7 largest tracked chains are highlighted. The top 5 chains by store count run 38 of the 172 stores (22%); 134 of the 139 tracked chains have a single store here. 3% of the tracked retail stores here are bookstores, against 2% across the United States.
- Barnes & Noble (23)
- 2nd & Charles (6)
- Boulder Book Store (1)
- CU Book Store (1)
- Mardel Christian & Education (2)
- CSU Bookstore (1)
- Mile High Comics (1)
- Other tracked chains
Top tracked chains by store count
- 1 Barnes & Noble 23
- 2 2nd & Charles 6
- 3 Tattered Cover Book Store 5
- 4 Mardel Christian & Education 2
- 5 Mutiny Information Cafe 2
- 6 Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative 1
- 7 Spell Books 1
- 8 Regis University Bookstore 1
- 9 Dwelling Place Ministry & Books 1
- 10 $2 Buck Books 1
- 11 Capitol Hill Books 1
- 12 Petals and Pages 1
- 13 Second Story Books 1
- 14 Adams State University Bookstore 1
- 15 Beat Book Shop 1
- 16 Kapow Comics & Coffee 1
- 17 Grand Valley Books 1
- 18 Shining Lotus Metaphysical Bookstore 1
- 19 Words of Windsor 1
- 20 Born Again Used Books 1
- 21 Twice Upon A Time Bookshop 1
- 22 Top 5 Comics 1
- 23 Heroes and Dragons 1
- 24 The Book Rack 1
- 25 Aamazing Fantasy Comics 1
- 26 Lithos 1
- 27 Celebration Metaphysical Center 1
- 28 Prairie Mountain Media 1
- 29 Broadway Book Mall 1
- 30 Collectibles Marketplace 1
- 31 Fahrenheit's Books 1
- 32 Hermitage Antiquarian Bookshop 1
- 33 Friends Of The Aurora Public Library Book Outlet 1
- 34 Kilgore Books 1
- 35 FRCC Westminster Bookstore 1
- 36 Mountain View Books 1
- 37 All In A Dream 1
- 38 Edgewater Books 1
- 39 Books Again 1
- 40 Danny the Comic Shop 1
- 41 Books on Main 1
- 42 Downtown Books & Coffee 1
- 43 Park Hill Community Bookstore 1
- 44 Smetch Rat Games 1
- 45 White Rabbit Books & Curiosities 1
- 46 Books Inc. 1
- 47 Rosemary's Baby Bookstore 1
- 48 BookEnds 1
- 49 The Book Nook 1
- 50 Covered Treasures Bookstore 1
More trends