Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Niwot earn more than those in 95% of U.S. towns
2.2% of residents are in poverty, where Colorado as a whole has 9.4%. Niwot grades A for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. For 35% of workers, the job is at 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
Work in Niwot: the figures worth knowing
Niwot trades workers with the towns around it
Niwot has about as many jobs (2,000) as working residents (1,784), but they are mostly different people: 1,646 residents leave for work each day while 1,862 people come in. Only 7% of the jobs in Niwot are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Niwot
35% of Niwot workers work from home, against 21% across Colorado. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Niwot are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 25 across Colorado. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Colorado worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Niwot pay over $40,000 a year
76% of the jobs based in Niwot pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Niwot’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Niwot is better than 91% of U.S. towns, #33 of 159 in Colorado. The poverty rate is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Niwot could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
The daily flow of workers through Niwot
On a workday 1,646 residents head out to work, 138 work right here, and 1,862 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 (1.12 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.
From Niwot, about 18 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Niwot workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 929 commuters (the 35% 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.
76% of the jobs in Niwot pay over $3,333 a month
2,000 jobs are based in Niwot.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Niwot, 2013 → 2023: 1,810 → 2,000. 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 Niwot’s own residents hold wherever they work.
26% of working residents work in Boulder
Where Niwot clocks in
26% of workers
11% of workers
9% 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.
How many miles Niwot commutes
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.
For most of Niwot, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Niwot is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns, #130 of 159 in Colorado. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,431 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 35% 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 3.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 75% 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). 1.9% of Niwot households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Niwot’s commuters take a bus or train.
Niwot next to U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700: 378th of 4,535 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Stepping Stone CO | 3,137 | $224K | 0.0% | 2.5% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 54 | Sierra Ridge CO | 3,663 | $158K | 0.1% | 2.4% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Genesee CO | 3,778 | $187K | 2.4% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 376 | Eagle Township MI | 2,802 | $92K | 3.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A |
| 377 | Westport WI | 4,249 | $84K | 4.2% | 0.8% | 1% | A |
| 378 | Niwot CO | 3,447 | $146K | 2.2% | 4.1% | 8% | A |
| 379 | Logan Township IN | 3,943 | $119K | 6.0% | 1.3% | 1% | A |
| 380 | Charlton NY | 4,362 | $107K | 5.0% | 0.7% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | 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 Niwot, the top three, the last and three more from Colorado.
Work next door: 26% of Niwot’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Boulder. Darker towns draw more of Niwot’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 Niwot: questions
What is the median household income in Niwot?
$146,492 (±$11,590) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Niwot?
2.2%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Niwot?
18 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 35% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Niwot work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boulder (26%, 7 mi), Denver (11%, 27 mi), Longmont (9%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Niwot walkable?
Niwot is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 9.1 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Niwot without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Niwot, from the people who make the trip.
More of Niwot
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.