Lincoln School · Photo: Hustvedt · CC BY-SA 3.0Erie’s household incomes are higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 2.3% (Colorado 9.4%). For jobs and income Erie is better than 97% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (B+). 34% of workers work from home, against 21% across Colorado.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Erie apart on work
Jobs in Erie have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Erie went from 2,058 in 2014 to 4,984 in 2024, +142%. The jobs ↓
A lot of Erie works from home
34% of Erie workers work from home, against 21% across Colorado. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, 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 Erie earns its Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($173,349, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Erie could be anywhere from A to A+.
66% of the jobs in Erie pay over $3,333 a month
4,984 jobs are based in Erie.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Erie, 2014 → 2024: 2,058 → 4,984. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Erie’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Erie: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Erie workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,016 commuters (the 34% 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.
Erie quiets down on a workday
On a workday 14,736 residents head out to work, 960 work right here, and 4,024 people come in from elsewhere.
About 30,000 people are in Erie on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.32 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 2024, primary jobs.
17% of working residents work in Boulder
Where Erie clocks in
17% of workers
14% of workers
7% 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.
Erie’s commute, mile by mile
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Driving is how Erie gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% 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 18,290 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 42% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 0.9% of Erie households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Erie’s commuters take a bus or train.
Erie is 37th of 1,019 U.S. towns of 29,000 to 55,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Milton GA | 41,266 | $171K | 4.3% | 2.8% | 5% | A+ |
| 36 | Merrimack NH | 29,699 | $127K | 3.0% | 1.9% | 17% | A+ |
| 37 | Erie CO | 40,904 | $173K | 2.3% | 3.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 38 | Matthews NC | 32,769 | $109K | 3.7% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 39 | Shrewsbury MA | 39,627 | $139K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 77 | Dakota Ridge CO | 33,753 | $121K | 4.4% | 2.8% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 147 | Ken Caryl CO | 33,233 | $118K | 3.7% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 232 | Lafayette CO | 30,116 | $119K | 5.6% | 3.8% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,019 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Erie, the top three, the last and three more from Colorado.
10% of Erie works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Lafayette (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Erie workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erie | – | A+ | B+ | 26 min | $173,349 |
| Frederick | under 3% | A | B− | 32 min | $129,460 |
| Lafayette | 5% | A | A | 24 min | $119,040 |
| Broomfield | 5% | A | A | 26 min | $123,874 |
| Dacono | under 3% | A | C+ | 32 min | $104,559 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Erie’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 2024, 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 Erie: questions
What is the median household income in Erie?
$173,349 (±$9,854) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Erie?
2.3%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Erie?
26 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Erie work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boulder (17%, 11 mi), Denver (14%, 21 mi), Longmont (7%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Erie walkable?
Erie is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Erie without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Erie, from the people who make the trip.
More of Erie
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.