Work & commute · Capitan

Work & commute in Capitan, NM

Most working residents leave Capitan for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Ruidoso (26%), Albuquerque (10%) and Ruidoso Downs (5%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

39 of 375 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 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 336 Capitan residents head out of town to work, 39 work right here, and 250 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Capitan.

336live here, work elsewhere

39live and work here

250work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Capitan goes to work

Ruidoso13.7 mi away

26%97

Capitan (in town)right here

10%39

Albuquerque123.6 mi away

10%38

Ruidoso Downs14.4 mi away

5%18

Roswell62.7 mi away

5%17

Santa Fe148.3 mi away

3%13

Carrizozo15.7 mi away

3%10

Clovis151.1 mi away

1%5

Las Cruces108.6 mi away

1%5

Española172.4 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%129

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

How far

How far Capitan commutes

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

18%

40%

18%Under 10 mi

40%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

40%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Capitan is balanced between jobs and homes

0.77jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Capitan are

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

Jobs based in Capitan

289 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Capitan residents hold

375 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month47%

+61%

Jobs based in Capitan, 2013 → 2023: 179 → 289. 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.