Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0Centennial has higher household incomes than 92% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Centennial is better than 91% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (A). Below the poverty line: 3.3% of residents (Colorado 9.4%). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 13.2 in Denver.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Centennial stands out on work
Centennial and Denver trade workers both ways
Denver is the top workplace for Centennial residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Centennial come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most jobs in Centennial pay over $40,000 a year
75% of the jobs based in Centennial pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
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.
What’s behind Centennial’s Jobs & income grade
Household income holds Centennial’s grade up ($131,928, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Centennial could be anywhere from A to A+.
27% of working residents work in Denver
Where Centennial clocks in
27% of workers
11% of workers
9% 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.
75% of the jobs in Centennial pay over $3,333 a month
71,099 jobs are based in Centennial.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Centennial, 2013 → 2023: 56,305 → 71,099. 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 Centennial’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Centennial by day
On a workday 46,868 residents head out to work, 5,566 work right here, and 65,533 people come in from elsewhere.
About 127,000 people are in Centennial on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.36 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.
How long Centennial spends getting to work: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Centennial workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 41,971 commuters (the 27% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Centennial
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.
Centennial is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 6.4% across Colorado.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 57,427 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 64% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 4% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% 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). 2.9% of Centennial households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Centennial’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
How Centennial ranks: 26th of 394 U.S. towns of 76,000 to 147,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Highlands Ranch CO | 102,257 | $159K | 2.9% | 4.0% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Sugar Land TX | 107,726 | $136K | 5.5% | 4.1% | 15% | A |
| 25 | Northfield Township IL | 89,835 | $137K | 7.1% | 3.5% | 16% | A |
| 26 | Centennial CO | 108,658 | $132K | 3.3% | 4.6% | 11% | A |
| 27 | Milpitas CA | 78,596 | $179K | 5.9% | 4.1% | 10% | A |
| 28 | Canton Township MI | 99,714 | $121K | 5.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Arvada CO | 122,901 | $117K | 5.8% | 3.8% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Castle Rock CO | 83,815 | $145K | 3.8% | 4.4% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 394 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 Centennial, the top three, the last and three more from Colorado.
Next door is work for 27% of Centennial
The biggest share goes to Aurora (11%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Centennial workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centennial | – | A | A | 26 min | $131,928 |
| Aurora | 11% | B | A | 29 min | $88,368 |
| Dove Valley | under 2% | B+ | A− | 23 min | $81,524 |
| Greenwood Village | 9% | A+ | A | 20 min | $149,029 |
| Littleton | 4% | A | A | 25 min | $98,839 |
| Inverness | under 2% | A− | A+ | 21 min | $109,135 |
| Cherry Creek | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 23 min | $153,776 |
| Foxfield | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Highlands Ranch | 3% | A | A− | 24 min | $159,307 |
Same-state neighbors only. Foxfield: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Centennial’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Centennial: questions
What is the median household income in Centennial?
$131,928 (±$5,953) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Centennial?
3.3%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Centennial?
26 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Centennial work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Denver (27%, 12 mi), Aurora (11%, 11 mi), Greenwood Village (9%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Centennial walkable?
Centennial is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Centennial without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 4% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Centennial, from the people who make the trip.
More of Centennial
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.