Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Work and commuting in Four Square Mile
The two grades for Four Square Mile are B for jobs and income and A for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 13.2 in Denver. Only 3% work in Four Square Mile itself; outside it, Denver draws the most (39%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Four Square Mile at work: what stands out
Much of Four Square Mile works one town over
54% of working residents work in a town that borders Four Square Mile: Denver (39%) and Aurora (15%). Next door ↓
Most Four Square Mile residents work close to home
72% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 7% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
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.
The figures behind Four Square Mile’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Four Square Mile is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #89 of 159 in Colorado. Job access by car holds Four Square Mile’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (14.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Four Square Mile could be anywhere from B− to A−.
How far Four Square Mile goes 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.
How many people are in Four Square Mile by day
On a workday 9,918 residents head out to work, 255 work right here, and 5,885 people come in from elsewhere.
About 19,000 people are in Four Square Mile on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.60 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.
Where people from Four Square Mile work
Where Four Square Mile clocks in
39% of workers
15% of workers
5% 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.
What work there is in Four Square Mile: 6,140 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Four Square Mile, 2013 → 2023: 4,970 → 6,140. 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 Four Square Mile’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes to work from Four Square Mile
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Four Square Mile workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,530 commuters (the 22% 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.
Four Square Mile is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Four Square Mile is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #23 of 159 in Colorado. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 6.0% 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 13,460 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 31% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 82% 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). 11.8% of Four Square Mile households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Four Square Mile’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Four Square Mile is 939th of 1,712 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000
| # | 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 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 203 | Frederick CO | 18,241 | $129K | 3.3% | 3.4% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 212 | Louisville CO | 20,581 | $147K | 4.5% | 3.6% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 287 | Columbine CO | 25,478 | $131K | 4.3% | 4.1% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 937 | Lebanon IN | 17,913 | $65K | 7.9% | 3.7% | 24% | B |
| 938 | Key West FL | 24,999 | $87K | 10.9% | 2.2% | 65% | B |
| 939 | Four Square Mile CO | 23,024 | $81K | 14.8% | 3.9% | 3% | B |
| 940 | Laurel VA | 18,721 | $74K | 8.4% | 5.0% | 4% | B |
| 941 | Orchards WA | 29,438 | $100K | 10.5% | 5.6% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Four Square Mile, the top three, the last and three more from Colorado.
54% of Four Square Mile works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Four Square Mile workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four Square Mile | – | B | A | 25 min | $80,903 |
| Denver | 39% | B+ | A+ | 25 min | $94,718 |
| Aurora | 15% | B | A | 29 min | $88,368 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Denver. Darker towns draw more of Four Square Mile’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 Four Square Mile: questions
What is the median household income in Four Square Mile?
$80,903 (±$4,372) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Four Square Mile?
14.8%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Four Square Mile?
25 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Four Square Mile work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Denver (39%, 6 mi), Aurora (15%, 9 mi), Centennial (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Four Square Mile walkable?
Four Square Mile is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.9 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Four Square Mile without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 31% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Four Square Mile, from the people who make the trip.
More of Four Square Mile
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.