Work & commute · Belen

Work & commute in Belen, NM

Most working residents leave Belen for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Albuquerque (38%), Los Lunas (12%) and Santa Fe (3%). Half commute less than 30 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

417 of 2,542 working residents

Typical commute

30 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 2,125 Belen residents head out of town to work, 417 work right here, and 2,586 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Belen.

2,125live here, work elsewhere

417live and work here

2,586work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Belen goes to work

Albuquerque25.1 mi away

38%976

Belen (in town)right here

16%417

Los Lunas2.6 mi away

12%296

Santa Fe77.5 mi away

3%88

Rio Rancho36.4 mi away

2%55

North Valley30 mi away

2%46

Los Chaves3.5 mi away

2%44

South Valley18.2 mi away

2%44

Kirtland AFB24 mi away

1%38

Rio Communities9.8 mi away

1%31

Everywhere elseother towns and states

20%507

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

How far

How far Belen commutes

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

27%

13%

48%

13%

27%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

48%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Belen is balanced between jobs and homes

1.18jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.18 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Belen are

3,003 jobs are based in Belen. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Belen’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Belen

3,003 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month35%

Jobs Belen residents hold

2,542 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month49%

+9%

Jobs based in Belen, 2013 → 2023: 2,754 → 3,003. 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.