Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Making a living in La Veta
About one in seven work in La Veta itself; outside it, Colorado Springs draws the most (13%, 95 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 12 minutes, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 197 jobs are based in La Veta; 250 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: La Veta in brief
La Veta’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside La Veta is Colorado Springs, 95 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (33) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
51% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Commutes from La Veta are quick
The average trip to work takes 12 minutes, against 25 across Colorado. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical Colorado worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 250 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Short hops and long hauls from La Veta
About 51% 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.
Commuting from La Veta: about 12 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Veta workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 260 commuters (the 27% 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.
La Veta by day and by night
On a workday 208 residents head out to work, 42 work right here, and 155 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 per resident).
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 La Veta goes to work
Where La Veta clocks in
13% of workers
6% 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.
Jobs in La Veta: what the 197 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Veta, 2013 → 2023: 241 → 197. 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 La Veta’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 La Veta: questions
What is the median household income in La Veta?
$52,804 (±$10,885) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Veta?
15.5%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Veta?
12 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Veta work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Colorado Springs (13%, 95 mi), Denver (6%, 156 mi), Walsenburg (5%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around La Veta without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Veta, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Veta
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.