Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Earning a living in Simla
A typical one-way commute lasts 19 minutes; Colorado averages 25, the U.S. 26. Only 6% stay in Simla for work; outside it, Denver is the main destination (12%, 60 miles). There are 180 jobs in Simla, against 290 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Simla: the figures worth knowing
Simla’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Simla is Denver, 61 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (35) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
53% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Commutes from Simla 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 ↓
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; with 290 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Near or far: the trip to work from Simla
About 53% 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.
Time on the road from Simla: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Simla workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 155 commuters (the 19% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Simla
On a workday 272 residents head out to work, 18 work right here, and 162 people come in from elsewhere.
About 480 people are in Simla on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.62 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.
The towns that employ Simla’s residents
Where Simla clocks in
12% of workers
10% 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.
Simla works in goods: 37% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Simla, 2013 → 2023: 204 → 180. 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 Simla’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Simla: questions
What is the median household income in Simla?
$44,688 (±$12,929) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Simla?
31.0%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Simla?
19 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Simla work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Denver (12%, 60 mi), Colorado Springs (10%, 41 mi), Limon (7%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Simla without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Simla, from the people who make the trip.
More of Simla
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.