Photo: AlabasterPIO · CC BY-SA 4.0Alabaster has lower unemployment (2.5%) than 77% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Alabaster for work; outside it, Birmingham is the main destination (21%, 22 miles). Jobs and income earn Alabaster A−; getting around on foot earns it C−. 18% of workers have no commute at all; Alabama has 9%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Alabaster
Alabaster trades workers with the towns around it
Alabaster has about as many jobs (13,283) as working residents (14,850), but they are mostly different people: 13,074 residents leave for work each day while 11,507 people come in. Only 13% of the jobs in Alabaster are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Alabaster works from home
18% of Alabaster workers work from home, against 9% across Alabama. Time on the road ↓
Alabaster draws workers from far and wide
The 13,283 jobs in Alabaster are filled from a wide area. Alabaster’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 29%; the other 58% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Alabaster workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 26 across Alabama. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 38 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Alabaster
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Alabaster is better than 83% of U.S. towns, #24 of 187 in Alabama. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Alabaster’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Alabaster could be anywhere from B+ to A.
The daily commute in and out of Alabaster
On a workday 13,074 residents head out to work, 1,776 work right here, and 11,507 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.89 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.
A commute of about 31 minutes in Alabaster
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alabaster workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,350 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Alabama: 88% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Commuting out of Alabaster: the destinations
Where Alabaster clocks in
21% of workers
12% 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.
Jobs in Alabaster: what the 13,283 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alabaster, 2013 → 2023: 10,240 → 13,283. 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 Alabaster’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Alabaster to work
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 Alabaster is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Alabaster is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns, #130 of 187 in Alabama. Both inputs place Alabaster 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 17,427 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). 2.2% of Alabaster households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Alabaster’s commuters take a bus or train.
Alabaster next to U.S. towns of 24,000 to 47,000: 408th of 1,287 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Trussville AL | 27,273 | $123K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 227 | Vestavia Hills AL | 38,306 | $134K | 10.0% | 1.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 258 | Pelham AL | 25,664 | $101K | 6.7% | 2.0% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 406 | Pleasant Hill CA | 34,017 | $145K | 7.3% | 4.8% | 6% | A− |
| 407 | Dover Township PA | 24,395 | $81K | 7.2% | 1.4% | 6% | A− |
| 408 | Alabaster AL | 34,748 | $91K | 7.1% | 2.5% | 12% | A− |
| 409 | Mount Olive Township NJ | 29,503 | $117K | 4.3% | 5.2% | 10% | A− |
| 410 | Radnor Township PA | 32,930 | $164K | 6.9% | 5.6% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,287 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Alabaster, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
11% of Alabaster works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Pelham (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Alabaster workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabaster | – | A− | C− | 31 min | $91,357 |
| Pelham | 7% | A | C | 29 min | $101,094 |
| Calera | 2% | A− | C− | 33 min | $87,194 |
| Brantleyville | under 3% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Helena | 2% | A+ | C− | 31 min | $115,139 |
Same-state neighbors only. Brantleyville: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Alabaster’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 Alabaster: questions
What is the median household income in Alabaster?
$91,357 (±$5,410) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alabaster?
7.1%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alabaster?
31 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Alabaster work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Birmingham (21%, 22 mi), Hoover (12%, 11 mi), Pelham (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Alabaster walkable?
Alabaster is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Alabaster 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 Alabaster, from the people who make the trip.
More of Alabaster
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.