Photo: Pbritti · CC BY-SA 4.0There are 5.3 jobs in Meridian for every working resident, and 13,209 people commute in
13,349 jobs are based in Meridian; 2,498 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Meridian B+; getting around on foot earns it B. 13% of workers work from home, next to 21% for Colorado as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Meridian
Meridian fills up on a workday
Meridian has 13,349 jobs, 5.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 16,000 people are in town, more than double the 5,600 who live here. Day and night ↓
Meridian and Denver trade workers both ways
Denver is the top workplace for Meridian residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Meridian come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
76% of Meridian’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 87% of the jobs based in Meridian. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Meridian are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 25 across Colorado. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Colorado worker. Time on the road ↓
The biggest group of Meridian’s workers comes from Denver
2,134 of the people who work in Meridian live in Denver, 15 miles away, more than from any other town. The commute map ↓
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.
Where Meridian’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Meridian is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #82 of 159 in Colorado. Job access by car holds Meridian’s grade up (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Meridian could be anywhere from C+ to A+.
How many people are in Meridian by day
On a workday 2,358 residents head out to work and 140 work right here.
About 16,000 people are in Meridian on a workday afternoon, 193% more than live here.
5.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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 in to Meridian: where workers come from
Where Meridian clocks in
22% of workers
8% of workers
8% 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.
87% of the jobs in Meridian pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Meridian, 2013 → 2023: 15,195 → 13,349. 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 Meridian’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 19 minutes from Meridian
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Meridian workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,026 commuters (the 13% 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.
Half of Meridian commutes less than 11 miles
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.
Most trips from Meridian start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Meridian is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #111 of 159 in Colorado. Both inputs place Meridian 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 3,474 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 6.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 16.5% of Meridian households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Meridian’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Meridian ranks: 1,356th of 3,561 U.S. towns of 3,900 to 7,600
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Todd Creek CO | 5,379 | $194K | 0.5% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 154 | Mead CO | 7,042 | $125K | 1.4% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 203 | Cherry Hills Village CO | 6,389 | $250K | 2.3% | 4.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,354 | Moores Mill AL | 6,378 | $97K | 11.2% | 3.6% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,355 | Alta Sierra CA | 7,361 | $106K | 6.3% | 3.1% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,356 | Meridian CO | 5,634 | $90K | 8.8% | 5.8% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,357 | Jonesborough TN | 6,990 | $74K | 11.7% | 1.7% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,358 | Salem Township IN | 4,057 | $70K | 6.3% | 3.4% | 9% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,561 | 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 Meridian, the top three, the last and three more from Colorado.
The towns around Meridian
The biggest share goes to Lone Tree (4%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Meridian’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 Meridian: questions
What is the median household income in Meridian?
$89,877 (±$11,518) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Meridian?
8.8%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Meridian?
19 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Meridian work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Denver (22%, 15 mi), Centennial (8%, 3 mi), Greenwood Village (8%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Meridian walkable?
Meridian is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Meridian without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Meridian, from the people who make the trip.
More of Meridian
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.