% of Population with less than 30 Minute Commute

70.4%

Rank: 2nd of 9 counties

% of Larimer County with 1 hr+ commute (2017)
8%
COLORADO: 7.5%
UNITED STATES: 9.3%
What is this measure? The U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey asks respondents how long it takes to travel to work. This represents a one-way commute time from home to work.

Why do we track this? The majority of people with jobs expect to commute to work, but if the amount of time spent traveling to and from work each day becomes too great, it can have negative impacts on the health and well-being of workers and their families. Workers generally require greater incentive to travel further distances to work, and the cost of housing near job centers can push lower wage workers to live farther away from their jobs. Extremely long commutes can impact worker engagement.
What are some limitations to this data? While this expresses the time spent commuting, it doesn't indicate anything about the origin or destination. It also doesn't convey why some people and some communities have longer commutes on average. Some communities are job centers with a large number of in-commuters, and some communities are better positioned for worker exchange with close neighbors. While it is preferable to have a relatively high percent of workers with shorter commutes, it is really beneficial for there to be worker exchange with other communities, as this means there are more options for workers. Also, many short commutes combined with high unemployment might mean that a community is isolated and there aren't opportunities within a reasonable driving distance. This metric needs to be coupled with understanding worker opportunities and worker exchange patterns.

Why did we use this source? Census ACS data is available on an annual basis and includes data for the nation, state and municipalities.

Data Source

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Additional Information and Other Data Sources