Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Denver has lower unemployment (3.1%) than 68% of U.S. towns
A typical one-way commute from Denver lasts 20 minutes (Pennsylvania 26, U.S. 26). Jobs and income earn Denver A−; getting around on foot earns it B+. Household incomes here are higher than in 63% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Denver in brief
Commutes from Denver are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
Denver makes and builds things
36% of the jobs based in Denver are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Denver residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 26%. 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.
Jobs & income in Denver: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Denver is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #335 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 79% of U.S. towns); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($85,531, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Denver could be anywhere from B− to A+.
The daily trip from Denver: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Denver workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,781 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Pennsylvania: 81% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Goods, not services: 36% of the jobs in Denver
1,394 jobs are based in Denver.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Denver, 2013 → 2023: 1,169 → 1,394. 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 daily commute in and out of Denver
On a workday 1,897 residents head out to work, 146 work right here, and 1,248 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Denver on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
13% of working residents work in East Cocalico Township
Where Denver clocks in
13% of workers
5% 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.
Miles to work from Denver
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.
The commute in Denver is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Denver is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns, #408 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.6% across Pennsylvania.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,010 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.5% of Denver households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Denver’s commuters take a bus or train.
Denver next to U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,100: 933rd of 4,430 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 931 | Maumee Township IN | 2,757 | $71K | 4.2% | 1.8% | 4% | A− |
| 932 | Newburgh IN | 3,442 | $75K | 6.2% | 2.1% | 3% | A− |
| 933 | Denver PA | 3,747 | $86K | 7.3% | 3.1% | 7% | A− |
| 934 | Garden Township KS | 2,713 | $86K | 4.2% | 1.8% | 4% | A− |
| 935 | Auburn Township KS | 3,319 | $89K | 6.5% | 1.9% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,430 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Pennsylvania.
13% of Denver works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Denver workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | – | A− | B+ | 20 min | $85,531 |
| East Cocalico Township | 13% | A | C+ | 21 min | $96,875 |
| West Cocalico Township | under 3% | B+ | C− | 22 min | $96,480 |
| Stevens | under 3% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Reamstown | under 3% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Stevens and Reamstown: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to East Cocalico Township. Darker towns draw more of Denver’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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?
$85,531 (±$11,421) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Denver?
7.3%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Denver?
20 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Denver work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are East Cocalico Township (13%, 2 mi), Ephrata (5%, 4 mi), Lancaster (4%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Denver walkable?
Denver is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Denver without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
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.