Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0Chelsea has 0.6 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Measured by household income, Chelsea is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. 4,002 jobs are based in Chelsea, and 7,126 of its residents work somewhere. Chelsea grades A for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Chelsea, in a few figures
Chelsea workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 26 across Alabama. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Chelsea has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Chelsea went from 2,824 in 2014 to 4,002 in 2024, +42%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Chelsea
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chelsea is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #20 of 187 in Alabama. The poverty rate is its strongest input (2.7%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 60% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chelsea could be anywhere from A− to A.
The trip to work from Chelsea: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chelsea workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,971 commuters (the 15% 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.
What Chelsea’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chelsea, 2014 → 2024: 2,824 → 4,002. 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 Chelsea’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Chelsea, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 6,720 residents head out to work, 406 work right here, and 3,596 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Chelsea on a workday afternoon, 18% 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 2024, primary jobs.
23% of working residents work in Birmingham
Where Chelsea clocks in
23% of workers
13% 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.
Where in the region Chelsea works
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.
Most of Chelsea commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chelsea is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns, #100 of 187 in Alabama. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% 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 8,211 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.5% of Chelsea households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Chelsea’s commuters take a bus or train.
Chelsea is 423rd of 2,103 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 24,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | Helena AL | 23,388 | $115K | 3.2% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 421 | Bensville MD | 15,848 | $170K | 5.4% | 3.9% | 1% | A |
| 422 | Teays Valley WV | 14,151 | $109K | 5.1% | 2.0% | 10% | A |
| 423 | Chelsea AL | 17,716 | $115K | 2.7% | 3.2% | 6% | A |
| 424 | Crystal MN | 22,239 | $93K | 8.2% | 2.4% | 3% | A |
| 425 | Bruno Township KS | 19,221 | $103K | 5.3% | 2.8% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 617 | Gardendale AL | 16,425 | $82K | 4.3% | 3.4% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,103 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Chelsea, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Work in the towns next to Chelsea
The biggest share goes to Pelham (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chelsea workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | – | A | C | 33 min | $115,337 |
| Pelham | 4% | A | C | 29 min | $101,094 |
| Westover | under 2% | A | C− | 33 min | $96,932 |
| Columbiana | 2% | B− | B− | 29 min | $80,546 |
| Highland Lakes | under 2% | A+ | D | 30 min | $169,361 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chelsea’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 Chelsea: questions
What is the median household income in Chelsea?
$115,337 (±$11,286) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chelsea?
2.7%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chelsea?
33 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chelsea work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Birmingham (23%, 17 mi), Hoover (13%, 12 mi), Homewood (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Chelsea walkable?
Chelsea is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chelsea without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chelsea, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chelsea
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.