Work & commute · Boulder

Work & commute in Boulder, CO

44% of Boulder’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Denver (12%), Longmont (3%) and Louisville (3%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

44%

15,612 of 35,365 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

34%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 19,753 Boulder residents head out of town to work, 15,612 work right here, and 72,318 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Boulder.

19,753live here, work elsewhere

15,612live and work here

72,318work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Boulder goes to work

Boulder (in town)right here

44%15,612

Denver26.7 mi away

12%4,205

Longmont12.7 mi away

3%1,039

Louisville6.9 mi away

3%1,028

Broomfield11.7 mi away

3%930

Westminster14.2 mi away

2%814

Colorado Springs84.1 mi away

2%721

Lafayette8.3 mi away

2%674

Aurora35.6 mi away

2%632

Lakewood23.6 mi away

2%540

Everywhere elseother towns and states

26%9,170

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

How far

How far Boulder commutes

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

56%

22%

15%

56%Under 10 mi

22%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Boulder is a job hub

2.49jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Boulder are

87,930 jobs are based in Boulder. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Boulder’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Boulder

87,930 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month76%

Jobs Boulder residents hold

35,365 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month68%

+18%

Jobs based in Boulder, 2013 → 2023: 74,473 → 87,930. 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.