Shaw Heights has 0.7 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income B: better than 55% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #102 of 159 in Colorado.
Walkability A−: more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns · #70 of 159 in Colorado.
Household incomes here are higher than in 64% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 29 minutes each way (Colorado 25, U.S. 26). Only 1% work in Shaw Heights; the top destination outside it is Denver (24%, 11 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 8.7 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 13.2 in Denver (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Shaw Heights
Nearly all the work in Shaw Heights is services
97% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Shaw Heights’ working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 29 minutes, longer than the Colorado average of 25. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Shaw Heights pay over $40,000 a year
77% of the jobs based in Shaw Heights 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.
What’s behind Shaw Heights’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Shaw Heights is better than 55% of U.S. towns, #102 of 159 in Colorado. Job access by car holds Shaw Heights’ grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Shaw Heights could be anywhere from C to A.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
1,514 jobs are based in Shaw Heights. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Shaw Heights’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shaw Heights, 2013 → 2023: 1,546 → 1,514. 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.
About 29 minutes each way, longer than most of Colorado
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shaw Heights workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,042 commuters (the 23% who work from home are left out). Across Colorado: 82% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Shaw Heights quiets down on a workday
On a workday 2,292 residents head out to work, 17 work right here, and 1,497 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,800 people are in Shaw Heights on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.66 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.
24% of working residents work in Denver
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Shaw Heights clocks in
24% of workers
10% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Half of Shaw Heights commutes less than 9 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Shaw Heights is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Shaw Heights is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #70 of 159 in Colorado. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.7% 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 2,637 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 64% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 14% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 92% 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). 2.7% of Shaw Heights households have no vehicle (Colorado 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Shaw Heights’ commuters take a bus or train.
Shaw Heights is 1,708th of 3,502 U.S. towns of 3,900 to 7,500 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Shaw Heights, the top three, the last and three more from Colorado.
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 151 | Mead CO | 7,042 | $125K | 1.4% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 199 | Cherry Hills Village CO | 6,389 | $250K | 2.3% | 4.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,706 | Forest Township MI | 4,354 | $71K | 6.4% | 3.7% | 4% | B |
| 1,707 | Birch Run Township MI | 5,853 | $82K | 10.3% | 4.5% | 9% | B |
| 1,708 | Shaw Heights CO | 5,565 | $86K | 12.3% | 6.8% | 1% | B |
| 1,709 | Makawao HI | 7,353 | $96K | 10.2% | 3.4% | 5% | B |
| 1,710 | Morgan Township IN | 4,135 | $63K | 9.2% | 2.6% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,502 | 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.
10% of Shaw Heights works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Westminster (10%). Darker towns draw more of Shaw Heights’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shaw Heights workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaw Heights | – | B | A− | 29 min | $86,250 |
| Westminster | 10% | A− | A− | 27 min | $100,272 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Shaw Heights: questions
What is the median household income in Shaw Heights?
$86,250 (±$18,298) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shaw Heights?
12.3%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shaw Heights?
29 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shaw Heights work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Denver (24%, 11 mi), Westminster (10%, 2 mi), Boulder (5%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Shaw Heights walkable?
Shaw Heights is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Shaw Heights without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 14% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shaw Heights, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shaw Heights
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.