DDZ Bridge over New Fork River · Photo: Clayton B. Fraser · Public domainJobs, income and commuting in Boulder, WY
Hardly any work in Boulder itself; outside it, Pinedale draws the most (35%, 12 miles). There are 50 jobs in Boulder for 37 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Boulder: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 37 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 50 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.35 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.
Where Boulder’s working residents head each day
Where Boulder clocks in
35% of workers
8% 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.
What Boulder’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Boulder, 2013 → 2023: 70 → 50. 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 Boulder’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Boulder commutes less than 12 miles
About 35% 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 Boulder: questions
Where do people who live in Boulder work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pinedale (35%, 12 mi), Jackson (8%, 74 mi), South Park (5%, 72 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Boulder, from the people who make the trip.
More of Boulder
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.