Photo: Amcannally · CC BY-SA 4.0Gardendale has lower unemployment (3.4%) than 63% of U.S. towns
Only 5% work in Gardendale; the top destination outside it is Birmingham (37%, 10 miles). Jobs and income earn Gardendale A−; getting around on foot earns it C. The trip to work takes 26 minutes on average; Alabama averages 26, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Gardendale
37% of Gardendale works in Birmingham
2,387 working residents, 37%, have their main job in Birmingham, 10 miles away. That’s 7 times as many as work in Gardendale itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Gardendale
66% of Gardendale residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 41% of the jobs based in Gardendale pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% 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.
Inside Gardendale’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gardendale is better than 82% of U.S. towns, #26 of 187 in Alabama. The poverty rate is its strongest input (4.3%, U.S. 12.5%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($82,192, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gardendale could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Where Gardendale’s working residents head each day
Where Gardendale clocks in
37% 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.
What Gardendale’s employers do
4,724 jobs are based in Gardendale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gardendale, 2013 → 2023: 4,578 → 4,724. 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 Gardendale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Gardendale, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 6,016 residents head out to work, 350 work right here, and 4,374 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Gardendale on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.74 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.
Time on the road from Gardendale: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gardendale workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,920 commuters (the 12% 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.
Gardendale’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Driving is how Gardendale gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gardendale is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns, #106 of 187 in Alabama. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.8% 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 7,896 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 4.9% of Gardendale households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Gardendale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Gardendale is 657th among 2,220 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 22,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 258 | Pike Road AL | 11,899 | $117K | 5.1% | 0.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 466 | Chelsea AL | 17,716 | $115K | 2.7% | 3.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 655 | Tiverton RI | 15,809 | $106K | 4.4% | 4.5% | 12% | A− |
| 656 | Brandywine MD | 12,160 | $158K | 6.2% | 5.6% | 2% | A− |
| 657 | Gardendale AL | 16,425 | $82K | 4.3% | 3.4% | 5% | A− |
| 658 | Sparta Township NJ | 20,431 | $168K | 4.0% | 5.4% | 13% | A− |
| 659 | Newburyport MA | 19,148 | $140K | 5.0% | 5.1% | 23% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,220 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Gardendale, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
How Gardendale compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Fultondale (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gardendale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardendale | – | A− | C | 26 min | $82,192 |
| Fultondale | 2% | B | C− | 28 min | $73,575 |
| Mount Olive | under 2% | B+ | D | 26 min | $82,234 |
| Brookside | under 2% | C | D | 27 min | $59,271 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Gardendale’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 Gardendale: questions
What is the median household income in Gardendale?
$82,192 (±$3,767) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gardendale?
4.3%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gardendale?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gardendale work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Birmingham (37%, 10 mi), Hoover (6%, 21 mi), Homewood (6%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Gardendale walkable?
Gardendale is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gardendale without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gardendale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gardendale
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.