For about two in five of its working residents, Fultondale is a commute to Birmingham
Commuters spend 28 minutes getting to work on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. Jobs and income earn Fultondale B; getting around on foot earns it C−. Only 3% stay in Fultondale for work; outside it, Birmingham is the main destination (41%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Fultondale
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Fultondale’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 28 minutes, longer than the Alabama average of 26. Time on the road ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
35% of the jobs based in Fultondale are held by workers 29 or younger, against 25% of Fultondale’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Fultondale
61% of Fultondale residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 43% of the jobs based in Fultondale pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. 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.
What’s behind Fultondale’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fultondale is better than 63% of U.S. towns, #50 of 187 in Alabama. Job access by car holds Fultondale’s grade up (ahead of 84% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (12.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fultondale could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Time on the road from Fultondale: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fultondale workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,069 commuters (the 14% 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.
The kinds of work in Fultondale
3,189 jobs are based in Fultondale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fultondale, 2013 → 2023: 2,790 → 3,189. 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 Fultondale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Fultondale
On a workday 3,974 residents head out to work, 140 work right here, and 3,049 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,400 people are in Fultondale on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.78 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.
Out of Fultondale to work: where people go
Where Fultondale clocks in
41% of workers
6% 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.
The distance from Fultondale 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 Fultondale, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fultondale is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns, #153 of 187 in Alabama. Both inputs place Fultondale 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 4,727 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 42% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.3% of Fultondale households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fultondale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,867 U.S. towns of 6,500 to 12,600, Fultondale comes 1,361st on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 146 | Meadowbrook AL | 9,117 | $142K | 5.5% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 302 | Pike Road AL | 11,899 | $117K | 5.1% | 0.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 402 | Brook Highland AL | 8,146 | $80K | 4.6% | 0.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,359 | Peru IL | 9,780 | $75K | 9.0% | 2.5% | 23% | B |
| 1,360 | University of California-Santa Barbara CA | 12,121 | $69K | 17.5% | 14.4% | 15% | B |
| 1,361 | Fultondale AL | 9,307 | $74K | 12.5% | 3.3% | 3% | B |
| 1,362 | Lost Creek Township IN | 11,305 | $67K | 13.2% | 3.2% | 6% | B |
| 1,363 | Mentone CA | 9,514 | $75K | 12.5% | 3.1% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,867 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Fultondale, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
The towns next door employ 46% of Fultondale
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fultondale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fultondale | – | B | C− | 28 min | $73,575 |
| Gardendale | 3% | A− | C | 26 min | $82,192 |
| Birmingham | 41% | C | A | 21 min | $46,051 |
| Tarrant | 2% | C− | A | 27 min | $42,070 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Birmingham. Darker towns draw more of Fultondale’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 Fultondale: questions
What is the median household income in Fultondale?
$73,575 (±$11,086) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fultondale?
12.5%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fultondale?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fultondale work?
3% work in town.
Is Fultondale walkable?
Fultondale is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fultondale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fultondale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fultondale
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.