Photo: David Shankbone · CC BY-SA 3.0How Calhan works: jobs, income and commuting
Home is the office for 8% of workers, against 21% across Colorado. Only 2% work in Calhan itself; outside it, Colorado Springs draws the most (38%, 27 miles). Commuters spend 38 minutes getting to work on average; Colorado averages 25, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Calhan at work: what stands out
38% of Calhan works in Colorado Springs
116 working residents, 38%, have their main job in Colorado Springs, 27 miles away. That’s 19 times as many as work in Calhan itself. The commute map ↓
Calhan workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 25 across Colorado. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% 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 302 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Commuting out of Calhan: the destinations
Where Calhan clocks in
38% of workers
8% of workers
4% 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.
Each way, about 38 minutes from Calhan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Calhan workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 275 commuters (the 8% 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.
How many miles Calhan commutes
About 31% 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.
Who works in Calhan, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 295 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 207 people come in from elsewhere.
About 640 people are in Calhan on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.71 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in Calhan
214 jobs are based in Calhan.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Calhan, 2013 → 2023: 136 → 214. 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 Calhan’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Calhan: questions
What is the median household income in Calhan?
$62,321 (±$22,100) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Calhan?
6.0%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Calhan?
38 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Calhan work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Colorado Springs (38%, 27 mi), Denver (8%, 59 mi), Aurora (4%, 52 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Calhan without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Calhan, from the people who make the trip.
More of Calhan
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.