Photo: Junkyard kahrs at English Wikipedia · Public domainLamar has lower household incomes than 84% of U.S. towns
21.3% of residents live below the poverty line (Colorado 9.4%). The two grades for Lamar are D for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 13.2 in Denver.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Lamar stands out on work
Commutes from Lamar are quick
The average trip to work takes 10 minutes, against 25 across Colorado. That’s about 115 hours a year less on the road than the typical Colorado worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Lamar go to people who live here
Of the 2,912 jobs based in Lamar, 54% are held by Lamar residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
37% 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 ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Lamar
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lamar is better than 10% of U.S. towns, #151 of 159 in Colorado. Unemployment holds Lamar’s grade up (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 10% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lamar could be anywhere from D− to C.
Lamar’s commute takes about 10 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lamar workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,217 commuters (the 5% 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.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 1,656 residents head out to work, 1,566 work right here, and 1,346 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 (0.90 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 in the region Lamar works
About 37% 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.
Where Lamar goes to work
Where Lamar clocks in
4% of workers
3% 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.
What Lamar’s employers do
2,912 jobs are based in Lamar.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lamar, 2013 → 2023: 2,311 → 2,912. 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 Lamar’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Lamar
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lamar is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #64 of 159 in Colorado. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.3% 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 3,381 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 52% 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 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 42% 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). 6.3% of Lamar households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Lamar’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lamar next to U.S. towns of 5,300 to 10,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Todd Creek CO | 5,379 | $194K | 0.5% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 109 | Fairmount CO | 9,902 | $164K | 2.9% | 2.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 148 | Mead CO | 7,042 | $125K | 1.4% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,851 | Darlington SC | 6,075 | $34K | 30.2% | 7.1% | 14% | D |
| 2,852 | Colusa CA | 6,519 | $71K | 18.1% | 10.3% | 25% | D |
| 2,853 | Lamar CO | 7,588 | $53K | 21.3% | 4.8% | 49% | D |
| 2,854 | Sylvester GA | 5,430 | $58K | 27.9% | 6.1% | 18% | D |
| 2,855 | Poteau OK | 9,171 | $51K | 19.8% | 6.1% | 34% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,071 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Lamar, 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 Lamar: questions
What is the median household income in Lamar?
$53,188 (±$9,608) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lamar?
21.3%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lamar?
10 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lamar work?
49% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Denver (4%, 168 mi), Colorado Springs (3%, 128 mi), Pueblo (3%, 109 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lamar walkable?
Lamar is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lamar without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lamar, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lamar
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.