Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Anniston have lower incomes than those in 91% of U.S. towns
A typical one-way commute lasts 24 minutes (Alabama 26, U.S. 26). Below the poverty line: 20.6% of residents (Alabama 15.6%). Anniston grades D for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Anniston
Anniston is where the jobs are
Anniston has 17,810 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 32,000 people are in town, 51% more than the 21,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Anniston draws workers from far and wide
The 17,810 jobs in Anniston are filled from a wide area. Anniston’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 58% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Where Anniston’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Anniston is better than 15% of U.S. towns, #147 of 187 in Alabama. Job access by car holds Anniston’s grade up (ahead of 53% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($46,668, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Anniston could be anywhere from D to C.
The daily flow of workers through Anniston
On a workday 5,033 residents head out to work, 2,001 work right here, and 15,809 people come in from elsewhere.
About 32,000 people are in Anniston on a workday afternoon, 51% more than live here.
2.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Commuting in to Anniston: where workers come from
Where Anniston clocks in
13% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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 the 17,810 jobs in Anniston are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Anniston, 2013 → 2023: 17,959 → 17,810. 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 Anniston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Anniston’s commute takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Anniston workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,621 commuters (the 8% 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.
Anniston’s commute, mile by mile
About 27% 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.
In Anniston, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Anniston is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns, #31 of 187 in Alabama. Both inputs place Anniston 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 8,258 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 14.4% of Anniston households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Anniston’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Anniston sits among U.S. towns of 15,000 to 28,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 4 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Trussville AL | 27,273 | $123K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | Helena AL | 23,388 | $115K | 3.2% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,617 | Kankakee IL | 23,400 | $48K | 25.5% | 7.6% | 24% | D |
| 1,618 | Elizabeth City NC | 19,622 | $52K | 13.3% | 7.0% | 35% | D |
| 1,619 | Anniston AL | 20,930 | $47K | 20.6% | 6.4% | 28% | D |
| 1,620 | Inkster MI | 24,959 | $39K | 35.2% | 14.4% | 2% | D |
| 1,621 | Coos Bay OR | 15,686 | $57K | 15.3% | 6.0% | 41% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,705 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Anniston, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Work next door: 13% of Anniston’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Anniston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anniston | – | D | B | 24 min | $46,668 |
| Saks | under 2% | C− | C− | 23 min | $49,753 |
| Oxford | 13% | C | C− | 25 min | $74,268 |
| West End-Cobb Town | under 2% | D | C− | 22 min | $55,323 |
| Weaver | under 2% | C | D− | 28 min | $49,435 |
| Hobson City | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Hobson City: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Oxford. Darker towns draw more of Anniston’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 Anniston: questions
What is the median household income in Anniston?
$46,668 (±$4,690) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Anniston?
20.6%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Anniston?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Anniston work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oxford (13%, 6 mi), Gadsden (4%, 26 mi), Birmingham (4%, 58 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Anniston walkable?
Anniston is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Anniston without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Anniston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Anniston
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.