Fewer people are out of work in Denver (2.6%) than in 76% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 29 minutes each way (North Carolina 25, U.S. 26). Denver grades B+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Only 4% work in Denver; the top destination outside it is Charlotte (34%, 26 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Denver: the figures worth knowing
Denver makes and builds things
44% of the jobs based in Denver are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Denver residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 19%. The jobs ↓
One in three of Denver works in Charlotte
498 working residents, 34%, have their main job in Charlotte, 26 miles away. That’s 9 times as many as work in Denver itself. The commute map ↓
Denver has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Denver went from 1,311 in 2013 to 1,956 in 2023, +49%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Denver’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Denver is better than 66% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Denver’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($65,721, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Denver could be anywhere from C to A.
Goods, not services: 44% of the jobs in Denver
1,956 jobs are based in Denver.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Denver, 2013 → 2023: 1,311 → 1,956. 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 Denver’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The places Denver commutes to
Where Denver clocks in
34% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Denver
On a workday 1,415 residents head out to work, 55 work right here, and 1,901 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,000 people are in Denver on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.33 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.
About 29 minutes to work from Denver
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Denver workers work from home, vs 16% across North Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,080 commuters (the 16% who work from home are left out). Across North Carolina: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The distance from Denver to work
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.
In Denver, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Denver is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.9% across North Carolina.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,290 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.4% of Denver households have no vehicle (North Carolina 5.3%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Denver’s commuters take a bus or train.
Denver places 1,488th of 5,401 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 56 | Governors Club NC | 1,787 | $236K | 0.0% | 8.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 113 | Avery Creek NC | 2,887 | $113K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 168 | Wrightsville Beach NC | 2,397 | $152K | 4.0% | 0.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,486 | Newbold WI | 2,869 | $76K | 5.0% | 0.2% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,487 | El Cerro NM | 2,923 | $106K | 5.9% | 4.5% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,488 | Denver NC | 2,497 | $66K | 6.0% | 2.6% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,489 | West Grove PA | 2,835 | $93K | 14.1% | 2.4% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,490 | Webb NY | 1,813 | $108K | 1.4% | 8.7% | 39% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,401 | 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 Denver, the top three, the last and three more from North Carolina.
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 Denver: questions
What is the median household income in Denver?
$65,721 (±$11,527) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,388 across North Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Denver?
6.0%, against 13.0% across North Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Denver?
29 minutes each way on average, against 25 across North Carolina and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Denver work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Charlotte (34%, 26 mi), Huntersville (5%, 14 mi), Mooresville (4%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Denver walkable?
Denver is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Denver without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Denver, from the people who make the trip.
More of Denver
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.