Work & commute · Cortez

Work & commute in Cortez, CO

48% of Cortez’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Durango (6%), Towaoc (3%) and Grand Junction (2%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

48%

1,837 of 3,817 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 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 1,980 Cortez residents head out of town to work, 1,837 work right here, and 3,168 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Cortez.

1,980live here, work elsewhere

1,837live and work here

3,168work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Cortez goes to work

Cortez (in town)right here

48%1,837

Durango39 mi away

6%223

Towaoc12.6 mi away

3%103

Grand Junction120.2 mi away

2%70

Dolores9.6 mi away

2%69

Mancos15.5 mi away

2%68

Denver260 mi away

2%68

Farmington, NM46.6 mi away

1%56

Shiprock, NM39.3 mi away

1%40

Montrose86.6 mi away

1%38

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%1,245

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

How far

How far Cortez commutes

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

59%

12%

20%

59%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Cortez is balanced between jobs and homes

1.31jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.31 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Cortez are

5,005 jobs are based in Cortez. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Cortez’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Cortez

5,005 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Cortez residents hold

3,817 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month47%

+4%

Jobs based in Cortez, 2013 → 2023: 4,807 → 5,005. 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.