Henry Stuart House · Photo: Chris Pruitt · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Fairhope are higher than in 72% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Fairhope B+; getting around on foot earns it B−. Poverty touches 8.2% of residents, against 15.6% across Alabama. About one in five work in Fairhope itself; outside it, Mobile draws the most (23%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Fairhope in brief
Fairhope and Mobile trade workers both ways
Mobile is the top workplace for Fairhope residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Fairhope come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fairhope has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Fairhope went from 7,349 in 2013 to 10,480 in 2023, +43%. 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.
The four measures behind Fairhope’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fairhope is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #44 of 187 in Alabama. Household income is its strongest input ($94,274, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 52% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fairhope could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Commuting out of Fairhope: the destinations
Where Fairhope clocks in
23% of workers
9% 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 work there is in Fairhope: 10,480 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairhope, 2013 → 2023: 7,349 → 10,480. 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 Fairhope’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Fairhope
On a workday 6,809 residents head out to work, 1,783 work right here, and 8,697 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 (1.22 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.
The daily trip from Fairhope: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairhope workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,915 commuters (the 13% 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.
How far Fairhope goes to work
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 Fairhope, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fairhope is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns, #56 of 187 in Alabama. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% 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 10,225 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). 2.0% of Fairhope households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fairhope’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Fairhope is 743rd of 1,477 U.S. towns of 19,000 to 36,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Trussville AL | 27,273 | $123K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Helena AL | 23,388 | $115K | 3.2% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 741 | Harrison NJ | 22,105 | $93K | 11.8% | 5.3% | 5% | B+ |
| 742 | Mandan ND | 25,061 | $72K | 9.8% | 1.5% | 25% | B+ |
| 743 | Fairhope AL | 26,625 | $94K | 8.2% | 3.5% | 21% | B+ |
| 744 | Magna UT | 35,401 | $90K | 10.8% | 4.5% | 4% | B+ |
| 745 | Tumwater WA | 28,010 | $95K | 7.0% | 5.3% | 17% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,477 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Fairhope, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Around Fairhope: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Daphne (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fairhope workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairhope | – | B+ | B− | 26 min | $94,274 |
| Point Clear | under 2% | C− | D | 23 min | $46,097 |
| Daphne | 9% | A− | C+ | 25 min | $87,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fairhope’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 Fairhope: questions
What is the median household income in Fairhope?
$94,274 (±$10,050) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairhope?
8.2%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairhope?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fairhope work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mobile (23%, 17 mi), Daphne (9%, 7 mi), Foley (4%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fairhope walkable?
Fairhope is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fairhope without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fairhope, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fairhope
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.