Thede Farmhouse · Photo: Bpvideo · CC BY-SA 3.0Northglenn has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 7.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 13.2 in Denver. Employers in Northglenn report 9,002 jobs, and 18,133 of its residents work somewhere. Northglenn grades B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Northglenn’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Northglenn is better than 72% of U.S. towns, #72 of 159 in Colorado. Job access by car holds Northglenn’s grade up (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (10.2%, 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, Northglenn could be anywhere from B to A−.
The daily flow of workers through Northglenn
On a workday 17,405 residents head out to work, 728 work right here, and 8,274 people come in from elsewhere.
About 30,000 people are in Northglenn on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
23% of working residents work in Denver
Where Northglenn clocks in
23% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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.
The kinds of work in Northglenn
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Northglenn, 2013 → 2023: 11,560 → 9,002. 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 Northglenn’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 28 minutes each way, longer than most of Colorado
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Northglenn workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,658 commuters (the 14% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Northglenn
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.
Northglenn is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Northglenn is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #54 of 159 in Colorado. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.4% 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 20,458 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 92% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 27% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% 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). 6.0% of Northglenn households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Northglenn’s commuters take a bus or train.
521st of 1,135: where Northglenn ranks among U.S. towns of 27,000 to 53,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Erie CO | 40,904 | $173K | 2.3% | 3.1% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | Dakota Ridge CO | 33,753 | $121K | 4.4% | 2.8% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 165 | Ken Caryl CO | 33,233 | $118K | 3.7% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 519 | French Valley CA | 45,269 | $149K | 4.9% | 6.5% | 4% | B+ |
| 520 | Temple City CA | 35,125 | $104K | 8.7% | 6.4% | 6% | B+ |
| 521 | Northglenn CO | 38,893 | $84K | 10.2% | 3.7% | 4% | B+ |
| 522 | Edwardsville Township IL | 40,258 | $93K | 9.0% | 4.3% | 21% | B+ |
| 523 | White Lake Township MI | 31,377 | $95K | 8.9% | 4.4% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,135 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Northglenn, the top three, the last and three more from Colorado.
Work next door: 19% of Northglenn’s workers
The biggest share goes to Thornton (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Northglenn workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northglenn | – | B+ | A− | 28 min | $84,030 |
| Thornton | 8% | A− | A− | 30 min | $103,088 |
| Westminster | 7% | A− | A− | 27 min | $100,272 |
| Broomfield | 4% | A | A | 26 min | $123,874 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Northglenn’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 Northglenn: questions
What is the median household income in Northglenn?
$84,030 (±$4,475) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Northglenn?
10.2%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Northglenn?
28 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Northglenn work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Denver (23%, 12 mi), Thornton (8%, 2 mi), Westminster (7%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Northglenn walkable?
Northglenn is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 13.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Northglenn without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 27% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Northglenn, from the people who make the trip.
More of Northglenn
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.