Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0There are 2.7 jobs in Benton for every working resident, and 38 people commute in
For 0% of workers, the job is at home, where Alabama as a whole has 9%. 38 jobs are based in Benton, against 14 working residents. Hardly any work in Benton; the top destination outside it is Hayneville (7%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Benton
On a workday 14 residents head out to work and none work right here.
About 60 people are in Benton on a workday afternoon, 67% more than live here.
2.7 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.
Where Benton’s workers come from
Where Benton clocks in
7% of workers
7% 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.
Goods jobs make up 89% of work in Benton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Benton, 2013 → 2023: 39 → 38. 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 Benton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Benton
of Benton workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14 commuters (the 0% 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.
Half of Benton commutes less than 60 miles
About 67% 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.
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.
- Two counts of out-of-state work. The Census survey asks workers where they work: 0% of Benton workers work outside Alabama. The job records count 14% at employers in other states. The records use the address the employer reports and skip the self-employed, so the two can differ.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Benton: questions
What is the median household income in Benton?
$46,750 (±$39,550) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Benton?
0.0%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Benton work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hayneville (7%, 16 mi), Florala (7%, 94 mi), Demopolis (7%, 60 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Benton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Benton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Benton
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.