Households in Cottondale earn less than those in 93% of U.S. towns
Commuters spend 23 minutes getting to work on average, next to 26 for Alabama and 26 for the U.S. 32.0% of residents are in poverty, against 15.6% across Alabama. The two grades for Cottondale 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
What the numbers say about work in Cottondale
43% of Cottondale works in Tuscaloosa
543 working residents, 43%, have their main job in Tuscaloosa, 5 miles away across the town line. That’s 43 times as many as work in Cottondale itself. The commute map ↓
Cottondale is a place people come home to
There are 170 jobs based in Cottondale, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Cottondale has about 1,500 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Most Cottondale residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Cottondale
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cottondale is better than 32% of U.S. towns, #102 of 187 in Alabama. Unemployment holds Cottondale’s grade up (2.9%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cottondale could be anywhere from D to B+.
43% of working residents work in Tuscaloosa
Where Cottondale clocks in
7% of workers
4% 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.
In and out of Cottondale on a workday
On a workday 1,255 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 157 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Cottondale on a workday afternoon, 42% 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 2023, primary jobs.
Short hops and long hauls from Cottondale
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.
Goods jobs make up 36% of work in Cottondale
170 jobs are based in Cottondale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cottondale, 2013 → 2023: 190 → 170. 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 Cottondale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Cottondale, about 23 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cottondale workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,174 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.
Few in Cottondale walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cottondale is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns, #102 of 187 in Alabama. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,233 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). 0.9% of Cottondale households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Cottondale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Cottondale is 3,424th among 5,278 U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Indian Springs Village AL | 2,553 | $137K | 3.4% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Eagle Point AL | 3,110 | $152K | 3.2% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 266 | Emerald Mountain AL | 3,535 | $123K | 2.2% | 1.8% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,422 | Rugby ND | 2,412 | $50K | 13.0% | 0.5% | 45% | C |
| 3,423 | Sterling NY | 3,157 | $60K | 14.1% | 2.6% | 7% | C |
| 3,424 | Cottondale AL | 2,632 | $45K | 32.0% | 2.9% | 1% | C |
| 3,425 | Herington KS | 2,101 | $71K | 7.6% | 0.5% | 32% | C |
| 3,426 | Coxsackie NY | 2,662 | $71K | 8.3% | 7.5% | 11% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,278 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Cottondale, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Bordering towns draw 43% of Cottondale’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cottondale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottondale | – | C | C | 23 min | $44,877 |
| Tuscaloosa | 43% | C+ | A− | 20 min | $51,464 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Tuscaloosa. Darker towns draw more of Cottondale’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 Cottondale: questions
What is the median household income in Cottondale?
$44,877 (±$23,864) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cottondale?
32.0%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cottondale?
23 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cottondale work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tuscaloosa (43%, 5 mi), Northport (7%, 9 mi), Birmingham (4%, 44 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cottondale walkable?
Cottondale is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cottondale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cottondale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cottondale
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.