Citronelle Railroad Historic District · Photo: Altairisfar (Jeffrey Reed) · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Citronelle have lower incomes than those in 94% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 22.5% of residents (Alabama 15.6%). For jobs and income Citronelle is better than 5% of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (C+). 1% of workers have no commute at all (Alabama 9%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Citronelle and work: the main findings
Citronelle 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 ↓
31% of Citronelle works in Mobile
401 working residents, 31%, have their main job in Mobile, 31 miles away. That’s twice as many as work in Citronelle itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Citronelle
56% of Citronelle residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 38% of the jobs based in Citronelle pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 87% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Few Citronelle workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 9% across Alabama. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Citronelle pay little
26% of the jobs based in Citronelle pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
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 Citronelle’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car holds Citronelle’s grade up (ahead of 29% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (10.0%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Citronelle could be anywhere from D− to C+.
From Citronelle, about 33 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Citronelle workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,306 commuters (the 1% 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.
31% of working residents work in Mobile
Where Citronelle clocks in
31% 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.
What Citronelle’s employers do
813 jobs are based in Citronelle.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Citronelle, 2013 → 2023: 1,015 → 813. 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 Citronelle’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Citronelle: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,136 residents head out to work, 174 work right here, and 639 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Citronelle on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.62 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 2023, primary jobs.
Citronelle’s commute, mile by mile
About 16% 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.
In Citronelle, 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 1,323 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). 0.0% of Citronelle households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Citronelle’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Citronelle compares with U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 113 | Eagle Point AL | 3,110 | $152K | 3.2% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 183 | Priceville AL | 3,952 | $117K | 2.2% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 220 | Argo AL | 4,376 | $105K | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,172 | Deer Creek Township IN | 3,538 | $42K | 23.4% | 12.5% | 1% | D− |
| 4,173 | San Andreas CA | 2,979 | $52K | 28.1% | 6.5% | 13% | D− |
| 4,174 | Citronelle AL | 3,897 | $44K | 22.5% | 10.0% | 13% | D− |
| 4,175 | Lansford PA | 4,123 | $45K | 23.8% | 21.2% | 3% | D− |
| 4,176 | Honea Path SC | 3,950 | $33K | 33.6% | 15.5% | 4% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,364 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Citronelle, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
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 Citronelle: questions
What is the median household income in Citronelle?
$43,870 (±$12,936) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Citronelle?
22.5%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Citronelle?
33 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Citronelle work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mobile (31%, 31 mi), Saraland (3%, 19 mi), Semmes (3%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Citronelle walkable?
Citronelle is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Citronelle without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Citronelle, from the people who make the trip.
More of Citronelle
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.