Blue Ridge has higher household incomes than 91% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 6.2%, against 15.6% across Alabama. For jobs and income Blue Ridge is better than 87% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (B−). Hardly any stay in Blue Ridge for work; outside it, Montgomery is the main destination (49%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Blue Ridge, in brief
Nearly half of Blue Ridge works in Montgomery
292 working residents, 49%, have their main job in Montgomery, 12 miles away. That’s far more as work in Blue Ridge itself. The commute map ↓
Blue Ridge is a place people come home to
There are 77 jobs based in Blue Ridge, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Blue Ridge has about 670 people in it, 43% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Blue Ridge workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 26 across Alabama. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 61 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 594 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Blue Ridge gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Household income is its strongest input ($128,482, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 64% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
Unemployment (0.0%) is left out: Blue Ridge’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Blue Ridge could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Where Blue Ridge’s working residents head each day
Where Blue Ridge clocks in
49% of workers
11% of workers
3% 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.
How many people are in Blue Ridge by day
On a workday 593 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 76 people come in from elsewhere.
About 670 people are in Blue Ridge on a workday afternoon, 43% fewer than live here.
0.13 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
From Blue Ridge, about 34 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Blue Ridge workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 539 commuters (the 5% 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.
The 77 jobs based in Blue Ridge
77 jobs are based in Blue Ridge.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Blue Ridge, 2014 → 2024: 82 → 77. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Blue Ridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Blue Ridge commutes
About 20% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Blue Ridge, most people drive to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 568 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). 2.0% of Blue Ridge households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Blue Ridge’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Blue Ridge is 254th among 4,312 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Shoal Creek AL | 1,328 | $218K | 0.0% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 237 | Rock Creek AL | 1,103 | $84K | 2.5% | 2.8% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 252 | Waupun WI | 1,390 | $113K | 2.5% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| 253 | Bellefonte DE | 1,313 | $91K | 5.5% | 4.9% | 1% | A |
| 254 | Blue Ridge AL | 1,190 | $128K | 6.2% | 0.0% | <1% | A |
| 255 | Yalaha FL | 1,404 | $121K | 0.0% | 0.0% | <1% | A |
| 256 | Cataula GA | 1,522 | $124K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 592 | Smoke Rise AL | 1,471 | $86K | 5.5% | 8.6% | <1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 1% | 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 Blue Ridge, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Blue Ridge and its neighbors: 11% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Blue Ridge workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Ridge | – | A | B− | 34 min | $128,482 |
| Wetumpka | 11% | C | C− | 27 min | $57,763 |
| Redland | under 2% | A | D | 24 min | $130,278 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Wetumpka. Darker towns draw more of Blue Ridge’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 2024, 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 Blue Ridge: questions
What is the median household income in Blue Ridge?
$128,482 (±$19,457) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Blue Ridge?
6.2%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Blue Ridge?
34 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Blue Ridge work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Montgomery (49%, 12 mi), Wetumpka (11%, 3 mi), Birmingham (3%, 80 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Blue Ridge walkable?
Blue Ridge is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Blue Ridge without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Blue Ridge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Blue Ridge
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.