Photo: Elisa.rolle · CC BY-SA 4.0More people are out of work in Buena Vista (12.4%) than in 98% of U.S. towns
About one in three work in Buena Vista itself; outside it, Salida draws the most (8%, 22 miles). Buena Vista grades C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.1 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 13.2 in Denver.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Buena Vista
Commutes from Buena Vista 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 ↓
A big share show a job far from home
40% 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 ↓
Buena Vista’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Buena Vista is Salida, 22 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (91) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
How Buena Vista earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Buena Vista is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #141 of 159 in Colorado. The poverty rate holds Buena Vista’s grade up (7.3%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Buena Vista could be anywhere from D to A−.
The daily trip from Buena Vista: about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Buena Vista workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,307 commuters (the 16% 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.
Miles to work from Buena Vista
About 40% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Buena Vista
On a workday 762 residents head out to work, 331 work right here, and 1,120 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,600 people are in Buena Vista on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.33 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Out of Buena Vista to work: where people go
Where Buena Vista clocks in
8% of workers
7% of workers
5% 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.
Jobs in Buena Vista: what the 1,451 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Buena Vista, 2014 → 2024: 1,308 → 1,451. 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 Buena Vista’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Buena Vista
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Buena Vista is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns, #42 of 159 in Colorado. Both inputs place Buena Vista near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,558 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 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 43% 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). 4.0% of Buena Vista households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Buena Vista’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Buena Vista is 3,428th among 4,453 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Stepping Stone CO | 3,137 | $224K | 0.0% | 2.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Sierra Ridge CO | 3,663 | $158K | 0.1% | 2.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Genesee CO | 3,778 | $187K | 2.4% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,426 | Vernon Township IN | 3,436 | $65K | 21.8% | 5.7% | 12% | C− |
| 3,427 | Mahanoy Township PA | 3,022 | $59K | 11.7% | 15.3% | 3% | C− |
| 3,428 | Buena Vista CO | 3,248 | $78K | 7.3% | 12.4% | 30% | C− |
| 3,429 | Warsaw NC | 2,853 | $54K | 17.7% | 3.2% | 8% | C− |
| 3,430 | Washington Township OH | 3,390 | $55K | 15.6% | 4.5% | 11% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | 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 Buena Vista, 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 Buena Vista: questions
What is the median household income in Buena Vista?
$78,323 (±$18,483) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Buena Vista?
7.3%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Buena Vista?
14 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Buena Vista work?
30% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Salida (8%, 22 mi), Denver (7%, 93 mi), Colorado Springs (5%, 74 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Buena Vista walkable?
Buena Vista is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Buena Vista without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Buena Vista, from the people who make the trip.
More of Buena Vista
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.