Work & commute · Carlsbad

Work & commute in Carlsbad, NM

57% of Carlsbad’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Albuquerque (4%), Hobbs (4%) and Roswell (3%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

57%

7,478 of 13,183 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 5,705 Carlsbad residents head out of town to work, 7,478 work right here, and 8,400 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Carlsbad.

5,705live here, work elsewhere

7,478live and work here

8,400work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Carlsbad goes to work

Carlsbad (in town)right here

57%7,478

Albuquerque232.4 mi away

4%558

Hobbs66.9 mi away

4%542

Roswell69.3 mi away

3%421

Artesia32.9 mi away

2%297

Loving11.5 mi away

1%170

La Huerta3.5 mi away

1%137

Clovis153.2 mi away

1%122

Las Cruces148.8 mi away

1%119

Santa Fe246.4 mi away

1%78

Everywhere elseother towns and states

25%3,261

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

How far

How far Carlsbad commutes

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

65%

26%

65%Under 10 mi

5%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Carlsbad is balanced between jobs and homes

1.20jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.20 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Carlsbad are

15,878 jobs are based in Carlsbad. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Carlsbad’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Carlsbad

15,878 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month66%

Jobs Carlsbad residents hold

13,183 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+41%

Jobs based in Carlsbad, 2013 → 2023: 11,258 → 15,878. 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.