Work & commute · Sterling

Work & commute in Sterling, CO

40% of Sterling’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Greeley (5%), Denver (5%) and Fort Morgan (3%). Half commute less than 30 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

40%

2,120 of 5,237 working residents

Typical commute

30 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 3,117 Sterling residents head out of town to work, 2,120 work right here, and 2,679 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sterling.

3,117live here, work elsewhere

2,120live and work here

2,679work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Sterling goes to work

Sterling (in town)right here

40%2,120

Greeley84.1 mi away

5%275

Denver107.1 mi away

5%258

Fort Morgan40.2 mi away

3%155

Aurora102.3 mi away

2%112

Colorado Springs147 mi away

2%111

Fort Collins98.4 mi away

2%97

Loveland99.2 mi away

2%94

Brush34.2 mi away

1%60

Pueblo179.2 mi away

1%58

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%1,897

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

How far

How far Sterling commutes

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

46%

42%

46%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

42%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Sterling is balanced between jobs and homes

0.92jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.92 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Sterling are

4,799 jobs are based in Sterling. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Sterling’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Sterling

4,799 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Sterling residents hold

5,237 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month54%

−15%

Jobs based in Sterling, 2013 → 2023: 5,615 → 4,799. 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.