Methodist Episcopal Church, South · Photo: Chris Pruitt · CC BY-SA 3.0Daphne has lower unemployment (2.3%) than 80% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Daphne; the top destination outside it is Mobile (30%, 14 miles). Jobs and income earn Daphne A−; getting around on foot earns it C+. The average commute, 25 minutes each way, matches the Alabama norm.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Daphne: the figures worth knowing
Daphne trades workers with the towns around it
Daphne has about as many jobs (11,362) as working residents (11,770), but they are mostly different people: 10,097 residents leave for work each day while 9,689 people come in. Only 15% of the jobs in Daphne are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Daphne and Mobile trade workers both ways
Mobile is the top workplace for Daphne residents (30%) and also where the most people who work in Daphne come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Daphne has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Daphne went from 8,279 in 2013 to 11,362 in 2023, +37%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Daphne’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Daphne is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #29 of 187 in Alabama. Unemployment is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 62% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Daphne could be anywhere from B to A.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 10,097 residents head out to work, 1,673 work right here, and 9,689 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.97 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.
Where the trip to work from Daphne ends
Where Daphne clocks in
30% 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.
Inside Daphne’s 11,362 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Daphne, 2013 → 2023: 8,279 → 11,362. 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 Daphne’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Daphne: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Daphne workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,334 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.
Where in the region Daphne works
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.
Few in Daphne walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Daphne is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns, #59 of 187 in Alabama. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.1% 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 14,445 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). 0.8% of Daphne households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Daphne’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Daphne ranks: 505th of 1,334 U.S. towns of 22,000 to 42,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Trussville AL | 27,273 | $123K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Helena AL | 23,388 | $115K | 3.2% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 227 | Vestavia Hills AL | 38,306 | $134K | 10.0% | 1.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 503 | Shaker Heights OH | 28,466 | $104K | 8.4% | 4.6% | 8% | A− |
| 504 | Clayton NC | 32,633 | $79K | 5.9% | 2.8% | 6% | A− |
| 505 | Daphne AL | 31,396 | $87K | 7.2% | 2.3% | 14% | A− |
| 506 | Mount Pleasant WI | 28,253 | $92K | 5.9% | 4.5% | 11% | A− |
| 507 | East Lake FL | 33,283 | $99K | 6.2% | 4.9% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,334 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Daphne, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Bordering towns draw 15% of Daphne’s workers
The biggest share goes to Fairhope (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Daphne workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daphne | – | A− | C+ | 25 min | $87,250 |
| Spanish Fort | 5% | B+ | C | 26 min | $99,346 |
| Fairhope | 10% | B+ | B− | 26 min | $94,274 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Daphne’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 Daphne: questions
What is the median household income in Daphne?
$87,250 (±$3,029) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Daphne?
7.2%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Daphne?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Daphne work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mobile (30%, 14 mi), Fairhope (10%, 7 mi), Spanish Fort (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Daphne walkable?
Daphne is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Daphne 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 Daphne, from the people who make the trip.
More of Daphne
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.