Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Decatur are lower than in 71% of U.S. towns
About one in three work in Decatur itself; outside it, Huntsville draws the most (21%, 20 miles). Below the poverty line: 13.1% of residents, next to 15.6% across Alabama. The two grades for Decatur are C+ for jobs and income and B− 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 Decatur
Commutes from Decatur are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 26 across Alabama. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Alabama worker. Time on the road ↓
Decatur draws workers from far and wide
The 31,125 jobs in Decatur are filled from a wide area. Decatur’s own residents hold 24% and the ten next-biggest home towns 21%; the other 55% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Decatur
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Decatur is better than 41% of U.S. towns, #83 of 187 in Alabama. Job access by car holds Decatur’s grade up (ahead of 66% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($61,563, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Decatur could be anywhere from C to B−.
The trip to work from Decatur: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Decatur workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 23,209 commuters (the 7% 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 people from Decatur work
Where Decatur clocks in
21% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
Who commutes out of Decatur, and who commutes in
On a workday 14,992 residents head out to work, 7,343 work right here, and 23,782 people come in from elsewhere.
About 67,000 people are in Decatur on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 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.
What the 31,125 jobs in Decatur are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Decatur, 2013 → 2023: 28,809 → 31,125. 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 Decatur’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Decatur commutes less than 12 miles
About 17% 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.
Most trips from Decatur start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Decatur is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns, #45 of 187 in Alabama. Both inputs place Decatur near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 24,841 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). 5.8% of Decatur households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Decatur’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Decatur is 569th among 738 U.S. towns of 41,000 to 78,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Keller TX | 46,078 | $175K | 3.4% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Madison AL | 67,968 | $135K | 4.3% | 2.2% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 567 | Haines City FL | 45,973 | $66K | 16.1% | 3.9% | 7% | C+ |
| 568 | Knight Township IN | 68,332 | $58K | 16.4% | 4.1% | 27% | C+ |
| 569 | Decatur AL | 58,056 | $62K | 13.1% | 4.5% | 33% | C+ |
| 570 | Springfield OR | 61,431 | $69K | 14.9% | 5.1% | 26% | C+ |
| 571 | Grand Junction CO | 71,827 | $70K | 11.8% | 4.8% | 67% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 644 | Dothan AL | 72,060 | $56K | 19.3% | 4.3% | 58% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 693 | Florence AL | 42,581 | $52K | 17.9% | 6.3% | 41% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 738 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Decatur, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Work next door: 24% of Decatur’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Decatur workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur | – | C+ | B− | 21 min | $61,563 |
| Priceville | under 1% | A+ | C− | 28 min | $117,127 |
| Trinity | 1% | A | D | 22 min | $100,929 |
| Huntsville | 21% | B | B | 20 min | $74,714 |
| Hartselle | 2% | B− | C | 28 min | $76,290 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Huntsville. Darker towns draw more of Decatur’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 Decatur: questions
What is the median household income in Decatur?
$61,563 (±$5,205) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Decatur?
13.1%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Decatur?
21 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Decatur work?
33% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Huntsville (21%, 20 mi), Madison (3%, 16 mi), Athens (3%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Decatur walkable?
Decatur is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Decatur without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Decatur, from the people who make the trip.
More of Decatur
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.