Photo: Xnatedawgx · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Empire works elsewhere
There are 34 jobs in Empire for 139 working residents. Hardly any work in Empire; the top destination outside it is Georgetown (22%, 3 miles). Home is the office for 1% of workers, next to 21% for Colorado as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Empire
On a workday 139 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 34 people come in from elsewhere.
About 210 people are in Empire on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Empire: the destinations
Where Empire clocks in
22% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Empire
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Empire, 2013 → 2023: 38 → 34. 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 Empire’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes each way for Empire’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Empire workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 401 commuters (the 1% 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.
The distance from Empire to work
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.
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 Empire: questions
What is the median household income in Empire?
$66,797 (±$6,426) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Empire?
12.6%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Empire?
25 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Empire work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Georgetown (22%, 3 mi), Idaho Springs (8%, 9 mi), Denver (6%, 42 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Empire without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Empire, from the people who make the trip.
More of Empire
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.