Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Park Center (1.3%) than in 92% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Park Center is behind 55% of U.S. towns. Park Center grades B− for jobs and income and B for walkability. For 28% of workers, the job is at home, where Colorado as a whole has 21%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Park Center: the gist
Park Center and Cañon City trade workers both ways
Cañon City is the top workplace for Park Center residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in Park Center come from (32% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Park Center is a place people come home to
There are 186 jobs based in Park Center, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Park Center has about 1,700 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Park Center workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 25 across Colorado. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical 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.
Park Center’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Park Center is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #110 of 159 in Colorado. Unemployment holds Park Center’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 16% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Park Center could be anywhere from C− to B+.
36% of working residents work in Cañon City
Where Park Center clocks in
36% of workers
10% 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.
A workday in Park Center: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,084 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 177 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Park Center on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
0.17 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Park Center’s commute takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Park Center workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 962 commuters (the 28% 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.
Park Center makes things: 42% of its jobs are in goods
186 jobs are based in Park Center.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Park Center, 2013 → 2023: 180 → 186. 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 Park Center’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Park Center
About 29% 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.
Getting around Park Center: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Park Center is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #105 of 159 in Colorado. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 8.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 6.4% across Colorado, on an EPA index of 5.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,328 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.1% of Park Center households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Park Center’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500, Park Center ranks 2,371st of 5,083 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 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Stepping Stone CO | 3,137 | $224K | 0.0% | 2.5% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Holly Hills CO | 2,572 | $122K | 6.1% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | Acres Green CO | 2,639 | $142K | 8.0% | 1.0% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,369 | Waterford Township ND | 2,404 | $69K | 1.5% | 0.0% | 4% | B− |
| 2,370 | Liberty Grove WI | 2,130 | $80K | 3.8% | 3.7% | 21% | B− |
| 2,371 | Park Center CO | 2,588 | $72K | 11.5% | 1.3% | 1% | B− |
| 2,372 | Elroy NC | 3,251 | $63K | 14.0% | 2.1% | <1% | B− |
| 2,373 | Lake Bryan TX | 2,165 | $77K | 13.2% | 4.3% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Park Center, the top three, the last and three more from Colorado.
Bordering towns draw 36% of Park Center’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Park Center workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Center | – | B− | B | 30 min | $72,212 |
| Cañon City | 36% | C | A− | 19 min | $64,787 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Cañon City. Darker towns draw more of Park Center’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 Park Center: questions
What is the median household income in Park Center?
$72,212 (±$25,433) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Park Center?
11.5%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Park Center?
30 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Park Center work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cañon City (36%, 3 mi), Colorado Springs (10%, 36 mi), Pueblo (8%, 36 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Park Center walkable?
Park Center is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Park Center without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Park Center, from the people who make the trip.
More of Park Center
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.