Work & commute · Lake

Work & commute in Lake, CO

About one in 3 of Lake’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Denver (5%), Grand Junction (3%) and Aurora (3%). Half commute less than 65 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

34%

65 of 193 working residents

Typical commute

65 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

7 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

22%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 128 Lake residents head out of town to work, 65 work right here, and 129 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lake.

128live here, work elsewhere

65live and work here

129work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lake goes to work

Lake City (in town)right here

34%65

Denver177.5 mi away

5%10

Grand Junction100.2 mi away

3%5

Aurora181.7 mi away

3%5

Colorado Springs149.8 mi away

3%5

Montrose42.8 mi away

2%4

Broomfield180.4 mi away

2%4

Pagosa Springs55.1 mi away

2%3

Gunnison41.9 mi away

2%3

Steamboat Springs171.4 mi away

2%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%86

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

How far

How far Lake commutes

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

38%

53%

38%Under 10 mi

1%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

53%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lake is balanced between jobs and homes

1.01jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.01 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Lake are

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

Jobs based in Lake

194 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less25%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs Lake residents hold

193 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month44%

+13%

Jobs based in Lake, 2013 → 2023: 172 → 194. 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.