Work & commute · Española

Work & commute in Española, NM

Most working residents leave Española for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Los Alamos (22%), Albuquerque (14%) and Santa Fe (13%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

560 of 3,052 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 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 2,492 Española residents head out of town to work, 560 work right here, and 3,537 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Española.

2,492live here, work elsewhere

560live and work here

3,537work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Española goes to work

Los Alamos14.5 mi away

22%669

Española (in town)right here

18%560

Albuquerque70.1 mi away

14%437

Santa Fe24.1 mi away

13%409

Ohkay Owingeh3.1 mi away

2%49

Rio Rancho60.9 mi away

1%41

Las Vegas55.2 mi away

1%36

Taos38 mi away

1%35

Chama67.6 mi away

1%23

Pojoaque8.2 mi away

1%22

Everywhere elseother towns and states

25%771

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

How far

How far Española commutes

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

27%

37%

30%

27%Under 10 mi

37%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

30%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Española is balanced between jobs and homes

1.34jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.34 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Española are

4,097 jobs are based in Española. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Española’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Española

4,097 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs Española residents hold

3,052 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−12%

Jobs based in Española, 2013 → 2023: 4,639 → 4,097. 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.