Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Households in Florence earn less than those in 88% of U.S. towns
8% of workers work from home (Colorado 21%). Poverty touches 12.2% of residents, where Colorado as a whole has 9.4%. For jobs and income Florence is better than 30% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (B).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Florence at work: what stands out
The four measures behind Florence’s grade
Unemployment holds Florence’s grade up (2.2%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($50,262, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Florence could be anywhere from D to B−.
20% of working residents work in Cañon City
Where Florence clocks in
20% of workers
12% 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.
Florence quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,308 residents head out to work, 198 work right here, and 680 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,200 people are in Florence on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.58 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 2023, primary jobs.
Inside Florence’s 878 jobs
878 jobs are based in Florence.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Florence, 2013 → 2023: 876 → 878. 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 Florence’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Florence spends getting to work: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Florence workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,649 commuters (the 8% 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.
How many miles Florence commutes
About 28% 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.
In Florence, the car does most of the work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 6.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 6.4% across Colorado, on an EPA index of 6.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,789 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 7.0% of Florence households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Florence’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,200, Florence ranks 3,049th of 4,264 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Stepping Stone CO | 3,137 | $224K | 0.0% | 2.5% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Sierra Ridge CO | 3,663 | $158K | 0.1% | 2.4% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 75 | Genesee CO | 3,778 | $187K | 2.4% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,047 | Rockland NY | 3,335 | $53K | 14.5% | 0.8% | 19% | C |
| 3,048 | Jackson CA | 5,100 | $70K | 10.9% | 4.3% | 11% | C |
| 3,049 | Florence CO | 3,856 | $50K | 12.2% | 2.2% | 13% | C |
| 3,050 | Troy Township IN | 3,821 | $55K | 12.4% | 3.4% | 18% | C |
| 3,051 | East China Township MI | 3,661 | $72K | 9.2% | 9.1% | 4% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,264 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Florence, 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 Florence: questions
What is the median household income in Florence?
$50,262 (±$7,379) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Florence?
12.2%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Florence?
28 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Florence work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cañon City (20%, 8 mi), Colorado Springs (12%, 38 mi), Denver (7%, 96 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Florence walkable?
Florence is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Florence without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Florence, from the people who make the trip.
More of Florence
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.