Photo: Egaowakaii · CC BY 3.0Colfax has higher unemployment (10.6%) than 95% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Colfax C−; getting around on foot earns it C+. Only 5% work in Colfax itself; outside it, Sacramento draws the most (8%, 46 miles). The average commute takes 26 minutes each way, against 29 across California and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Colfax and work: the main findings
Colfax’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Colfax is Sacramento, 46 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (54) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Colfax
69% of Colfax residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 35% of the jobs based in Colfax pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 686 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: Colfax’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Colfax is better than 18% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Colfax’s grade up ($72,788, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Colfax could be anywhere from D to B.
How far Colfax’s workers travel
About 30% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What work there is in Colfax: 542 jobs
542 jobs are based in Colfax.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Colfax, 2013 → 2023: 513 → 542. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Colfax’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Colfax, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 652 residents head out to work, 34 work right here, and 508 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Colfax to work: where people go
Where Colfax clocks in
8% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
About 26 minutes to work from Colfax
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Colfax workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 845 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across California: 79% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Most of Colfax commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Colfax is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.1% across California.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 980 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.8% of Colfax households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Colfax’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Colfax is 4,372nd of 5,793 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Baywood Park CA | 1,580 | $217K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Harmony Grove CA | 2,585 | $227K | 4.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Irwindale CA | 1,439 | $114K | 4.3% | 6.5% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,370 | Greenway Township MN | 1,794 | $66K | 12.6% | 5.9% | 5% | C− |
| 4,371 | Liberty Township OH | 1,788 | $65K | 13.1% | 7.7% | 1% | C− |
| 4,372 | Colfax CA | 2,043 | $73K | 13.1% | 10.6% | 5% | C− |
| 4,373 | Jonesboro IN | 1,510 | $46K | 16.3% | 7.7% | 1% | C− |
| 4,374 | Lykens PA | 1,856 | $73K | 23.0% | 3.7% | 5% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,793 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Colfax, the top three, the last and three more from California.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Colfax: questions
What is the median household income in Colfax?
$72,788 (±$14,011) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Colfax?
13.1%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Colfax?
26 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Colfax work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sacramento (8%, 46 mi), North Auburn (7%, 13 mi), Roseville (6%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Colfax walkable?
Colfax is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Colfax without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Colfax, from the people who make the trip.
More of Colfax
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.