Work & commute · Golden

Work & commute in Golden, CO

Most working residents leave Golden for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Denver (24%), Lakewood (11%) and Boulder (5%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

900 of 9,007 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

31%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 8,107 Golden residents head out of town to work, 900 work right here, and 18,923 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Golden.

8,107live here, work elsewhere

900live and work here

18,923work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Golden goes to work

Denver17.6 mi away

24%2,181

Lakewood5.8 mi away

11%1,001

Golden (in town)right here

10%900

Boulder19.6 mi away

5%409

Aurora26.1 mi away

4%347

Arvada7.1 mi away

3%246

Westminster12.4 mi away

2%212

Wheat Ridge6 mi away

2%201

Centennial21.2 mi away

2%196

Colorado Springs65.1 mi away

2%177

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%3,137

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

How far

How far Golden commutes

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

31%

54%

31%Under 10 mi

54%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Golden is a job hub

2.20jobs 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 Golden are

19,823 jobs are based in Golden. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Golden’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Golden

19,823 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month76%

Jobs Golden residents hold

9,007 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month71%

+20%

Jobs based in Golden, 2013 → 2023: 16,576 → 19,823. 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.