Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Center Point commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
Employers in Center Point report 2,203 jobs for 6,127 working residents. Center Point grades C for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 4.0 in Birmingham.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Center Point and work: the main findings
41% of Center Point works in Birmingham
2,497 working residents, 41%, have their main job in Birmingham, 10 miles away across the town line. That’s 21 times as many as work in Center Point itself. The commute map ↓
Center Point workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 26 across Alabama. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 38 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Where Center Point’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Center Point is better than 30% of U.S. towns, #107 of 187 in Alabama. Job access by car holds Center Point’s grade up (ahead of 82% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (8.1%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Center Point could be anywhere from C− to B−.
41% of working residents work in Birmingham
Where Center Point clocks in
41% of workers
6% 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 long Center Point spends getting to work: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Center Point workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,577 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.
Center Point by day and by night
On a workday 6,007 residents head out to work, 120 work right here, and 2,083 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Center Point on a workday afternoon, 25% 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.
The kinds of work in Center Point
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Center Point, 2013 → 2023: 2,213 → 2,203. 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 Center Point’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Center Point’s workers travel
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Center Point
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Center Point is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #9 of 187 in Alabama. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above 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 7,168 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 58% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 60% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.9% of Center Point households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Center Point’s commuters take a bus or train.
Center Point next to U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000: 1,685th of 2,109 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 248 | Pike Road AL | 11,899 | $117K | 5.1% | 0.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 443 | Chelsea AL | 17,716 | $115K | 2.7% | 3.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 622 | Gardendale AL | 16,425 | $82K | 4.3% | 3.4% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,683 | Borger TX | 11,842 | $62K | 14.9% | 3.6% | 42% | C |
| 1,684 | Red Hill SC | 15,920 | $68K | 19.1% | 5.9% | 5% | C |
| 1,685 | Center Point AL | 15,538 | $56K | 14.3% | 8.1% | 2% | C |
| 1,686 | Federal Heights CO | 14,075 | $57K | 24.2% | 6.5% | 2% | C |
| 1,687 | Kelso WA | 12,801 | $67K | 12.0% | 6.6% | 12% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | 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 Center Point, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Work next door: 41% of Center Point’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Center Point workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Point | – | C | A− | 31 min | $56,417 |
| Birmingham | 41% | C | A | 21 min | $46,051 |
| Pinson | under 2% | B− | D | 31 min | $76,410 |
| Grayson Valley | under 2% | C | C− | 25 min | $64,597 |
| Clay | under 2% | B− | C− | 32 min | $81,920 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Birmingham. Darker towns draw more of Center Point’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 Center Point: questions
What is the median household income in Center Point?
$56,417 (±$5,910) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Center Point?
14.3%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Center Point?
31 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Center Point work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Birmingham (41%, 10 mi), Hoover (6%, 20 mi), Homewood (5%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Center Point walkable?
Center Point is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Center Point without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Center Point, from the people who make the trip.
More of Center Point
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.