Work & commute · Albuquerque

Work & commute in Albuquerque, NM

72% of Albuquerque’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Kirtland AFB (5%), Rio Rancho (4%) and Santa Fe (2%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

72%

172,607 of 240,810 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 68,203 Albuquerque residents head out of town to work, 172,607 work right here, and 108,417 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Albuquerque.

68,203live here, work elsewhere

172,607live and work here

108,417work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Albuquerque goes to work

Albuquerque (in town)right here

72%172,607

Kirtland AFB6.2 mi away

5%11,864

Rio Rancho12.8 mi away

4%9,105

Santa Fe53.7 mi away

2%5,749

North Valley5 mi away

2%5,025

South Valley6.9 mi away

2%4,556

Los Lunas22.5 mi away

1%1,790

Los Alamos58.1 mi away

1%1,631

Bernalillo15.3 mi away

1%1,334

Las Cruces192.1 mi away

1%1,269

Everywhere elseother towns and states

11%25,880

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

How far

How far Albuquerque commutes

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

76%

14%

76%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Albuquerque is balanced between jobs and homes

1.17jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.17 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Albuquerque are

281,024 jobs are based in Albuquerque. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Albuquerque’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Albuquerque

281,024 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Albuquerque residents hold

240,810 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+6%

Jobs based in Albuquerque, 2013 → 2023: 265,035 → 281,024. 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.