Work & commute · Rocky Ford

Work & commute in Rocky Ford, CO

Most working residents leave Rocky Ford for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are La Junta (16%), Pueblo (8%) and Colorado Springs (7%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

239 of 1,436 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 1,197 Rocky Ford residents head out of town to work, 239 work right here, and 471 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rocky Ford.

1,197live here, work elsewhere

239live and work here

471work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Rocky Ford goes to work

Rocky Ford (in town)right here

17%239

La Junta10.7 mi away

16%235

Pueblo50.6 mi away

8%122

Colorado Springs79.7 mi away

7%106

Denver133.7 mi away

4%55

Ordway12 mi away

2%23

Aurora126.6 mi away

2%23

Swink5.7 mi away

1%16

Lamar60.3 mi away

1%14

Fountain68.2 mi away

1%14

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%589

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

How far

How far Rocky Ford commutes

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

25%

27%

44%

25%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

44%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Rocky Ford is a commuter town

0.49jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.49 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Rocky Ford are

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

Jobs based in Rocky Ford

710 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month42%

Jobs Rocky Ford residents hold

1,436 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month46%

+16%

Jobs based in Rocky Ford, 2013 → 2023: 613 → 710. 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.