Photo: Pi3.124 · CC BY-SA 3.0Work means Colorado Springs for about half of Fountain’s working residents
Jobs and income earn Fountain B−; getting around on foot earns it B−. At home: 11% of workers have no commute at all (Colorado 21%). About one in ten stay in Fountain for work; outside it, Colorado Springs is the main destination (48%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Fountain, in brief
Nearly half of Fountain works in Colorado Springs
5,325 working residents, 48%, have their main job in Colorado Springs, 13 miles away across the town line. That’s 5 times as many as work in Fountain itself. The commute map ↓
A longer commute than the towns next door
Fountain averages 27 minutes each way, more than any bordering town (11 to 23 minutes). Next door ↓
Fountain has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Fountain went from 4,666 in 2013 to 6,603 in 2023, +42%. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Fountain
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fountain is better than 53% of U.S. towns, #104 of 159 in Colorado. Household income holds Fountain’s grade up ($86,242, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fountain could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
Commuting out of Fountain: the destinations
Where Fountain clocks in
48% of workers
7% 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.
Jobs in Fountain: what the 6,603 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fountain, 2013 → 2023: 4,666 → 6,603. 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 Fountain’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Fountain
On a workday 10,137 residents head out to work, 1,023 work right here, and 5,580 people come in from elsewhere.
About 25,000 people are in Fountain on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.59 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.
Commuting from Fountain: about 27 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fountain workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,974 commuters (the 11% 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 Fountain to work
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.
Few in Fountain walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fountain is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns, #121 of 159 in Colorado. Both inputs place Fountain 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 14,529 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 8% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 3% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 48% 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). 2.7% of Fountain households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Fountain’s commuters take a bus or train.
Fountain is 889th of 1,366 U.S. towns of 21,000 to 40,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 114 | Dakota Ridge CO | 33,753 | $121K | 4.4% | 2.8% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 193 | Ken Caryl CO | 33,233 | $118K | 3.7% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 225 | Columbine CO | 25,478 | $131K | 4.3% | 4.1% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 887 | Franklin Township OH | 33,063 | $75K | 13.7% | 4.6% | 11% | B− |
| 888 | Morgantown WV | 30,293 | $45K | 30.4% | 6.2% | 40% | B− |
| 889 | Fountain CO | 29,450 | $86K | 10.3% | 5.4% | 9% | B− |
| 890 | Burbank IL | 28,578 | $80K | 12.9% | 7.1% | 5% | B− |
| 891 | Vero Beach South FL | 30,344 | $73K | 9.1% | 3.8% | 7% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,366 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Fountain, the top three, the last and three more from Colorado.
Bordering towns draw 52% of Fountain’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fountain workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fountain | – | B− | B− | 27 min | $86,242 |
| Security-Widefield | 2% | B | B | 23 min | $91,142 |
| Stratmoor | under 2% | C+ | A | 20 min | $65,000 |
| Fort Carson | 2% | B− | B+ | 11 min | $66,237 |
| Colorado Springs | 48% | B | A− | 23 min | $84,818 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Colorado Springs. Darker towns draw more of Fountain’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 Fountain: questions
What is the median household income in Fountain?
$86,242 (±$6,912) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fountain?
10.3%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fountain?
27 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fountain work?
9% work in town.
Is Fountain walkable?
Fountain is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fountain without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 3% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fountain, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fountain
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.