Employment & Wages

Resident Employment

Labor & Employment data indicate that 9,145 Park County residents were employed in 2015. However, only 15 percent were employed within the county during the same period. It is therefore concluded that 85-percent of the adult workforce now commutes to places of work outside the County for the following reasons:

  • The majority of Park County's adult population has relocated here while retaining employment in neighboring counties or cities (i.e. Denver)
  • The higher wage scale in neighboring areas
  • Relatively few employers in Park County.

Largest Employers

The largest 2016 non-government employer in Park County included:

  • Educational services (373 workers)
  • Food and lodging services (309 workers)
  • Construction trade (280 workers)
  • Retail trade (265 workers)
  • Professional and technical services (120 workers)

Unlike previous years, educational services employed the most county workers during 2016. In contrast, utilities (9 workers), arts & entertainment (20 workers), and information services (26 workers) provided the least employment. Because education, tourism and construction are highly seasonal industries, quarterly employment data reflect seasonal fluctuations in the number of employees. On the other hand, health care, manufacturing, and communications remain fairly constant throughout the year.

Annual Wages

The 2016 average annual wage in Park County was $34,625. Industries paying the highest annual wages include:

  • Wholesale trade ($89,232)
  • Information services ($77,324)
  • Finance and insurance ($73,060)
  • Professional and technical services($62,920)
  • Administrative services ($43,420)

Certain businesses within each industry pay higher wages than the industry as a whole. However, those businesses support a relatively small number of employees.