Photo: DrunkDriver · CC BY-SA 3.0Jobs and earnings in South Fork, and the trip to work
139 jobs are based in South Fork, and 175 of its residents work somewhere. Only 7% work in South Fork; the top destination outside it is Del Norte (10%, 16 miles). The average commute takes 23 minutes each way, where Colorado has 25 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves South Fork for work, and who comes in
On a workday 162 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 126 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 (0.79 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.
The towns that employ South Fork’s residents
Where South Fork clocks in
10% of workers
9% 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.
Jobs in South Fork: what the 139 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Fork, 2013 → 2023: 152 → 139. 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 South Fork’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From South Fork, about 23 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Fork workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 267 commuters (the 20% 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.
Half of South Fork commutes less than 35 miles
About 30% 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.
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 South Fork: questions
What is the median household income in South Fork?
$76,250 (±$31,056) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Fork?
11.1%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Fork?
23 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Fork work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Del Norte (10%, 16 mi), Alamosa (9%, 44 mi), Pagosa Springs (8%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around South Fork 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 South Fork, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Fork
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.