Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0Boaz has lower household incomes than 88% of U.S. towns
A typical one-way commute lasts 22 minutes; Alabama averages 26, the U.S. 26. 19.4% of residents live below the poverty line, against 15.6% across Alabama. The two grades for Boaz are C+ for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Boaz
Boaz and Albertville trade workers both ways
Albertville is the top workplace for Boaz residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Boaz come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Boaz draws workers from far and wide
The 5,093 jobs in Boaz are filled from a wide area. Boaz’s own residents hold 12% and the ten next-biggest home towns 25%; the other 63% 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.
Inside Boaz’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Boaz is better than 36% of U.S. towns, #97 of 187 in Alabama. Unemployment holds Boaz’s grade up (2.1%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($49,846, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Boaz could be anywhere from C− to B−.
25% of working residents work in Albertville
Where Boaz clocks in
25% of workers
7% of workers
5% 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.
Boaz on a workday afternoon
On a workday 3,062 residents head out to work, 615 work right here, and 4,478 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Boaz on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 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.
The 5,093 jobs based in Boaz
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Boaz, 2013 → 2023: 5,919 → 5,093. 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 Boaz’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 22 minutes to work from Boaz
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Boaz workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,084 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.
Boaz’s commute, mile by mile
About 22% 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.
Boaz is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Boaz is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns, #105 of 187 in Alabama. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 1.7% across Alabama.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,292 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). 7.2% of Boaz households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Boaz’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Boaz ranks: 2,074th of 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 135 | Meadowbrook AL | 9,117 | $142K | 5.5% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 302 | Pike Road AL | 11,899 | $117K | 5.1% | 0.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 395 | Brook Highland AL | 8,146 | $80K | 4.6% | 0.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,072 | Placerville CA | 10,685 | $67K | 15.9% | 4.3% | 18% | C+ |
| 2,073 | Beatrice NE | 12,318 | $57K | 17.4% | 1.7% | 45% | C+ |
| 2,074 | Boaz AL | 10,619 | $50K | 19.4% | 2.1% | 17% | C+ |
| 2,075 | New Albany MS | 7,756 | $51K | 14.8% | 2.5% | 33% | C+ |
| 2,076 | Ventnor City NJ | 9,345 | $69K | 10.1% | 9.5% | 8% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Boaz, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
25% of Boaz works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Boaz workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boaz | – | C+ | C | 22 min | $49,846 |
| Sardis City | under 1% | C | C− | 25 min | $67,721 |
| Albertville | 25% | C− | C+ | 20 min | $56,099 |
| New Union | under 1% | — | — | 40 min | — |
| Carlisle-Rockledge | under 1% | D | D− | 28 min | $60,360 |
Same-state neighbors only. New Union: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Albertville. Darker towns draw more of Boaz’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 Boaz: questions
What is the median household income in Boaz?
$49,846 (±$10,346) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Boaz?
19.4%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Boaz?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Boaz work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albertville (25%, 6 mi), Guntersville (7%, 13 mi), Gadsden (5%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Boaz walkable?
Boaz is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Boaz 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 Boaz, from the people who make the trip.
More of Boaz
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.