Photo: Av9 · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Breckenridge have higher incomes than those in 93% of U.S. towns
About two in five stay in Breckenridge for work; outside it, Denver is the main destination (6%, 64 miles). Below the poverty line: 8.3% of residents; Colorado has 9.4%. The two grades for Breckenridge are A− for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Breckenridge and work: the main findings
Breckenridge is where the jobs are
Breckenridge has 7,132 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 9,300 people are in town, 86% more than the 5,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Breckenridge are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 25 across Colorado. That’s about 84 hours a year less on the road than the typical Colorado worker. Time on the road ↓
Breckenridge draws workers from far and wide
The 7,132 jobs in Breckenridge are filled from a wide area. Breckenridge’s own residents hold 16% and the ten next-biggest home towns 18%; the other 66% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Breckenridge has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Breckenridge went from 4,782 in 2014 to 7,132 in 2024, +49%. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Income, poverty and work: Breckenridge’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Breckenridge is better than 76% of U.S. towns, #63 of 159 in Colorado. Unemployment holds Breckenridge’s grade up (0.5%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 19% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Breckenridge could be anywhere from C+ to A.
The daily commute in and out of Breckenridge
On a workday 1,675 residents head out to work, 1,151 work right here, and 5,981 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,300 people are in Breckenridge on a workday afternoon, 86% more than live here.
2.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
How long Breckenridge spends getting to work: about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Breckenridge workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,208 commuters (the 24% who work from home are left out). Across Colorado: 82% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The towns that send workers to Breckenridge
Where Breckenridge clocks in
6% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
Most jobs in Breckenridge are in services
7,132 jobs are based in Breckenridge.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Breckenridge, 2014 → 2024: 4,782 → 7,132. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Breckenridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Breckenridge to work
About 34% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Breckenridge is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Breckenridge is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #52 of 159 in Colorado. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 25.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 6.4% across Colorado, on an EPA index of 7.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,918 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 0.8% of Breckenridge households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Breckenridge’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,800, Breckenridge ranks 978th of 3,758 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Todd Creek CO | 5,379 | $194K | 0.5% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Sierra Ridge CO | 3,663 | $158K | 0.1% | 2.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 83 | Genesee CO | 3,778 | $187K | 2.4% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 976 | Wayne Township PA | 5,385 | $98K | 6.2% | 2.7% | 10% | A− |
| 977 | Loch Lomond VA | 4,606 | $114K | 4.2% | 8.6% | 1% | A− |
| 978 | Breckenridge CO | 5,015 | $138K | 8.3% | 0.5% | 41% | A− |
| 979 | Greendale IN | 4,598 | $75K | 10.2% | 0.4% | 8% | A− |
| 980 | St. Helena CA | 5,194 | $149K | 5.1% | 4.6% | 24% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,758 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Breckenridge, the top three, the last and three more from Colorado.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 Breckenridge: questions
What is the median household income in Breckenridge?
$138,191 (±$74,981) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Breckenridge?
8.3%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Breckenridge?
14 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Breckenridge work?
41% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Denver (6%, 64 mi), Avon (3%, 27 mi), Colorado Springs (3%, 81 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Breckenridge walkable?
Breckenridge is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 25% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Breckenridge without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Breckenridge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Breckenridge
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.