Work & commute · Center

Work & commute in Center, CO

About one in 5 of Center’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Alamosa (9%), Monte Vista (6%) and Colorado Springs (3%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

20%

137 of 687 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

13 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 550 Center residents head out of town to work, 137 work right here, and 384 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Center.

550live here, work elsewhere

137live and work here

384work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Center goes to work

Center (in town)right here

20%137

Alamosa23.1 mi away

9%61

Monte Vista12.2 mi away

6%44

Colorado Springs106.2 mi away

3%20

Del Norte14.2 mi away

2%15

Pueblo89.1 mi away

2%13

Denver153.8 mi away

2%13

Saguache23.1 mi away

2%12

La Junta140.7 mi away

1%9

Aurora154.6 mi away

1%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%354

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

How far

How far Center commutes

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

39%

32%

25%

39%Under 10 mi

32%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Center is balanced between jobs and homes

0.76jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Center are

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

Jobs based in Center

521 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month41%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Center residents hold

687 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)36%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month39%

−9%

Jobs based in Center, 2013 → 2023: 575 → 521. 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.