Yucca House National Monument · Photo: National Park Service · Public domainFew U.S. towns have household incomes as low as Towaoc’s
62.0% of residents are in poverty; Colorado has 9.4%. Household incomes here are among the lowest in the country. For jobs and income Towaoc is near the bottom of U.S. towns: D−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Towaoc apart
Fewer jobs are based in Towaoc than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Towaoc fell from 1,030 in 2013 to 449 in 2023, −56%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Most Towaoc residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Commutes from Towaoc are quick
The average trip to work takes 12 minutes, against 25 across Colorado. That’s about 100 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 318 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Towaoc’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Towaoc is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Towaoc’s grade.
Unemployment (13.1%) is left out: Towaoc’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Towaoc stays D−.
Most jobs in Towaoc are in services
449 jobs are based in Towaoc.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Towaoc, 2013 → 2023: 1,030 → 449. 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 Towaoc’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Towaoc
About 20% 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 Towaoc: about 12 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Towaoc workers work from home, vs 21% across Colorado. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 191 commuters (the 0% 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 daily commute in and out of Towaoc
On a workday 226 residents head out to work, 92 work right here, and 357 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Towaoc on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.41 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.
7% of working residents work in Cortez
Where Towaoc clocks in
7% of workers
3% 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.
U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500, and where Towaoc sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 203 | Aetna Estates CO | 1,010 | $75K | 1.1% | 0.5% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 522 | Nederland CO | 1,463 | $123K | 2.7% | 3.4% | 12% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 637 | Loma CO | 1,350 | $141K | 5.9% | 0.0% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,760 | Redway CA | 1,145 | $24K | 36.7% | 14.9% | 15% | D− |
| 3,761 | Covelo CA | 1,286 | $35K | 36.5% | 22.4% | 27% | D− |
| 3,762 | Towaoc CO | 1,078 | $23K | 62.0% | 13.1% | 29% | D− |
| 3,763 | Leilani Estates HI | 1,490 | $30K | 29.0% | 21.5% | 0% | D− |
| 3,764 | Fort Totten ND | 1,038 | $20K | 39.8% | 0.0% | 12% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Towaoc, the top three, the last and three more from Colorado.
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 Towaoc: questions
What is the median household income in Towaoc?
$22,955 (±$14,160) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,470 across Colorado and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Towaoc?
62.0%, against 9.4% across Colorado and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Towaoc?
12 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Colorado and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Towaoc work?
29% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cortez (7%, 13 mi), Farmington (3%, 44 mi), St. Michaels (2%, 109 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Towaoc without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Towaoc, from the people who make the trip.
More of Towaoc
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.