Work & commute · Aspen

Work & commute in Aspen, CO

51% of Aspen’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Snowmass Village (9%), Denver (5%) and Basalt (2%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

51%

2,192 of 4,294 working residents

Typical commute

2 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

14 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,102 Aspen residents head out of town to work, 2,192 work right here, and 7,106 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Aspen.

2,102live here, work elsewhere

2,192live and work here

7,106work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Aspen goes to work

Aspen (in town)right here

51%2,192

Snowmass Village5.9 mi away

9%372

Denver111.4 mi away

5%234

Basalt16.5 mi away

2%65

Colorado Springs113.7 mi away

1%64

Grand Junction93 mi away

1%49

Glenwood Springs36.3 mi away

1%41

Vail39.7 mi away

1%38

Carbondale24.5 mi away

1%37

Boulder102 mi away

1%34

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%1,168

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Aspen commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

67%

24%

67%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Aspen is a job hub

2.17jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.2 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Aspen are

9,298 jobs are based in Aspen. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Aspen’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Aspen

9,298 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)86%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Aspen residents hold

4,294 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+24%

Jobs based in Aspen, 2013 → 2023: 7,503 → 9,298. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.