Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Commerce City top those of 85% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 13.2 in Denver. Poverty touches 8.7% of residents; Colorado has 9.4%. The two grades for Commerce City are A− 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
The work figures that set Commerce City apart
Commerce City trades workers with the towns around it
Commerce City has about as many jobs (35,268) as working residents (32,619), but they are mostly different people: 29,324 residents leave for work each day while 31,973 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Commerce City are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Commerce City works one town over
38% of working residents work in a town that borders Commerce City: Denver (28%), Brighton (4%) and Thornton (4%). Next door ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
48% of the jobs in Commerce City are in trade, transport and utilities, against 25% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Commerce City workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 25 across Colorado. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Commerce City has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Commerce City went from 26,059 in 2013 to 35,268 in 2023, +35%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Commerce City earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Commerce City is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #58 of 159 in Colorado. Job access by car holds Commerce City’s grade up (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Commerce City could be anywhere from B+ to A.
A workday in Commerce City: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 29,324 residents head out to work, 3,295 work right here, and 31,973 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 (1.08 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.
71% of the jobs in Commerce City pay over $3,333 a month
35,268 jobs are based in Commerce City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Commerce City, 2013 → 2023: 26,059 → 35,268. 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 Commerce City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Commerce City: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Commerce City workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 28,876 commuters (the 17% 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.
28% of working residents work in Denver
Where Commerce City clocks in
28% of workers
11% 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.
How far Commerce City’s workers travel
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Commerce City
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Commerce City is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #66 of 159 in Colorado. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.9% 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 34,822 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 86% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 10% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% 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). 3.6% of Commerce City households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Commerce City’s commuters take a bus or train.
170th of 599: where Commerce City ranks among U.S. towns of 51,000 to 98,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Parker CO | 65,985 | $133K | 4.4% | 3.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 86 | Castle Rock CO | 83,815 | $145K | 3.8% | 4.4% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | Broomfield CO | 79,174 | $124K | 6.2% | 3.8% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 168 | Santee CA | 58,205 | $113K | 7.9% | 4.7% | 8% | A− |
| 169 | Elk Grove Township IL | 93,072 | $89K | 8.1% | 3.9% | 14% | A− |
| 170 | Commerce City CO | 72,345 | $112K | 8.7% | 4.3% | 10% | A− |
| 171 | Doral FL | 81,634 | $94K | 10.3% | 3.3% | 21% | A− |
| 172 | Gaithersburg MD | 71,113 | $112K | 8.8% | 4.6% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 599 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Commerce City, the top three, the last and three more from Colorado.
Next door is work for 38% of Commerce City
The biggest share goes to Denver (28%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Commerce City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commerce City | – | A− | A− | 30 min | $111,972 |
| Derby | under 2% | B+ | A | 26 min | $82,138 |
| Brighton | 4% | B+ | A− | 31 min | $107,679 |
| Denver | 28% | B+ | A+ | 25 min | $94,718 |
| Thornton | 4% | A− | A− | 30 min | $103,088 |
| North Washington | 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. North Washington: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Commerce City’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 Commerce City: questions
What is the median household income in Commerce City?
$111,972 (±$8,786) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Commerce City?
8.7%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Commerce City?
30 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Commerce City work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Denver (28%, 10 mi), Aurora (11%, 13 mi), Thornton (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Commerce City walkable?
Commerce City is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Commerce City without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 10% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Commerce City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Commerce City
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.