Photo: NewMexConnorMcDavidFan · CC BY-SA 4.0Columbus’ household incomes are among the lowest in the country
Jobs & income D−: better than 40% of U.S. towns on income, poverty and job access.
Walkability D−: more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns.
Working residents average 38 minutes each way (New Mexico 24, U.S. 26). Only 4% work in Columbus; the top destination outside it is Deming (36%, 31 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Columbus, in brief
Columbus and Deming trade workers both ways
Deming is the top workplace for Columbus residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in Columbus come from (33% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
44% 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 ↓
Columbus workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 24 across New Mexico. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical 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 402 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Columbus’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Columbus is better than 40% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Columbus’ grade.
Unemployment (6.3%) is left out: Columbus’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Columbus could be anywhere from D− to D.
36% of working residents work in Deming
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Columbus clocks in
36% of workers
11% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Half of Columbus commutes less than 31 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 44% 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.
About 38 minutes each way, longer than most of New Mexico
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Columbus workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 381 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across New Mexico: 84% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Columbus quiets down on a workday
On a workday 387 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 227 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in Columbus on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.60 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.
What the 242 jobs in Columbus are
242 jobs are based in Columbus. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Columbus, 2013 → 2023: 35 → 242. 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.
Most trips from Columbus start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Columbus is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Columbus near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 429 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). 9.5% of Columbus households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Columbus’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Columbus compares with U.S. towns of 1,000 to 2,000
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Columbus, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 815 | Tres Arroyos NM | 1,926 | $88K | 2.2% | 5.1% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 905 | Santa Ana Pueblo NM | 1,026 | $86K | 5.5% | 2.9% | 19% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 977 | Little Walnut Village NM | 1,445 | $125K | 2.8% | 0.0% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6,245 | Cumberland KY | 1,761 | $35K | 52.9% | 30.1% | 10% | D− |
| 6,246 | Rosedale MS | 1,423 | $19K | 57.5% | 22.3% | 12% | D− |
| 6,247 | Columbus NM | 1,484 | $26K | 22.7% | 6.3% | 4% | D− |
| 6,248 | Sneedville TN | 1,349 | $25K | 48.4% | 14.2% | 23% | D− |
| 6,249 | Sabinal TX | 1,378 | $34K | 36.5% | 7.8% | 5% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 6,308 | 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.
Columbus and the towns next door
Darker towns draw more of Columbus’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Columbus workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | – | D− | D− | 38 min | $26,090 |
| City of the Sun | under 1% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. City of the Sun: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. 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 Columbus: questions
What is the median household income in Columbus?
$26,090 (±$3,600) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Columbus?
22.7%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Columbus?
38 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Columbus work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Deming (36%, 31 mi), Las Cruces (11%, 61 mi), El Paso (6%, 71 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Columbus walkable?
Columbus is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 2.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Columbus without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Columbus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Columbus
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.