Ballplay has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
Only 1% stay in Ballplay for work; outside it, Gadsden is the main destination (28%, 12 miles). Ballplay has 39 jobs, and 495 of its residents work somewhere. For 3% of workers, the job is at home, where Alabama as a whole has 9%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Ballplay apart
Ballplay is a place people come home to
There are 39 jobs based in Ballplay, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Ballplay has about 390 people in it, 54% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Ballplay workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 26 across Alabama. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
28% of Ballplay works in Gadsden
139 working residents, 28%, have their main job in Gadsden, 12 miles away. That’s 28 times as many as work in Ballplay itself. 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; with 495 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
A workday in Ballplay: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 490 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 34 people come in from elsewhere.
About 390 people are in Ballplay on a workday afternoon, 54% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Getting to work from Ballplay takes about 38 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ballplay workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 417 commuters (the 3% 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.
Where people from Ballplay work
Where Ballplay clocks in
28% 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.
Ballplay makes things: 41% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ballplay, 2013 → 2023: 54 → 39. 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 Ballplay’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Ballplay
About 30% 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.
How Ballplay compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Hokes Bluff (5%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ballplay workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballplay | – | — | — | 38 min | $47,837 |
| Hokes Bluff | 5% | B− | D | 33 min | $74,968 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ballplay’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 Ballplay: questions
What is the median household income in Ballplay?
$47,837 (±$19,201) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ballplay?
1.8%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ballplay?
38 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ballplay work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gadsden (28%, 12 mi), Rainbow City (5%, 18 mi), Hokes Bluff (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ballplay without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ballplay, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ballplay
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.