Work & commute · Denver

Work & commute in Denver, CO

45% of Denver’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Aurora (9%), Lakewood (4%) and Greenwood Village (3%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

45%

153,594 of 342,044 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

27%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 188,450 Denver residents head out of town to work, 153,594 work right here, and 369,902 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Denver.

188,450live here, work elsewhere

153,594live and work here

369,902work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Denver goes to work

Denver (in town)right here

45%153,594

Aurora9.3 mi away

9%31,814

Lakewood13.3 mi away

4%14,352

Greenwood Village10.2 mi away

3%11,664

Centennial11.9 mi away

3%11,239

Boulder26.7 mi away

2%7,736

Westminster12.6 mi away

2%5,733

Colorado Springs62.1 mi away

2%5,415

Englewood10 mi away

2%5,367

Commerce City9.5 mi away

1%5,116

Everywhere elseother towns and states

26%90,014

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

How far

How far Denver commutes

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

66%

25%

66%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Denver is a job hub

1.53jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Denver are

523,496 jobs are based in Denver. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Denver’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Denver

523,496 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month75%

Jobs Denver residents hold

342,044 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month73%

+23%

Jobs based in Denver, 2013 → 2023: 425,002 → 523,496. 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.