Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Center are lower than in 92% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 0% of workers, next to 21% for Colorado as a whole. 19.9% of residents are in poverty, next to 9.4% for Colorado as a whole. Center grades D− for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Center and work: the main findings
Commutes from Center are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 25 across Colorado. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Colorado worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Center workers work from home
Only 0% of workers work from home, against 21% across Colorado. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Center’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Center is Alamosa, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (61) 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 687 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Center’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Center is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Center’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Center could be anywhere from D− to C−.
From Center, about 13 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Center workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 881 commuters (the 0% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Center
About 25% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Center
On a workday 550 residents head out to work, 137 work right here, and 384 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 (0.76 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.
9% of working residents work in Alamosa
Where Center clocks in
9% of workers
6% 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.
30% of the jobs in Center make or build things
521 jobs are based in Center.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Center, 2013 → 2023: 575 → 521. 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 Center’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Center is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Center is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Center 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 881 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.9% of Center households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Center’s commuters take a bus or train.
Center next to U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,600
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Columbine Valley CO | 1,684 | $250K | 0.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Holly Hills CO | 2,572 | $122K | 6.1% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 579 | Coal Creek CO | 2,346 | $134K | 5.4% | 2.4% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,755 | Warm Springs OR | 2,480 | $55K | 26.8% | 16.6% | 54% | D− |
| 5,756 | Salem AR | 1,611 | $41K | 29.1% | 4.4% | 35% | D− |
| 5,757 | Center CO | 1,890 | $46K | 19.9% | 18.1% | 20% | D− |
| 5,758 | Las Animas CO | 2,325 | $52K | 35.7% | 9.2% | 19% | D− |
| 5,759 | Pearson GA | 1,908 | $32K | 36.4% | 6.0% | 18% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,921 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Center, 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 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 Center: questions
What is the median household income in Center?
$45,750 (±$22,835) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Center?
19.9%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Center?
13 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Center work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Alamosa (9%, 23 mi), Monte Vista (6%, 12 mi), Colorado Springs (3%, 106 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Center walkable?
Center is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Center without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Center, from the people who make the trip.
More of Center
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.