With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Grayson Valley works elsewhere
Hardly any work in Grayson Valley itself; outside it, Birmingham draws the most (40%, 12 miles). There are 285 jobs in Grayson Valley; 2,588 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Grayson Valley C; getting around on foot earns it C−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Grayson Valley
Grayson Valley is a place people come home to
There are 285 jobs based in Grayson Valley, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Grayson Valley has about 3,800 people in it, 38% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
40% of Grayson Valley works in Birmingham
1,036 working residents, 40%, have their main job in Birmingham, 12 miles away. That’s far more as work in Grayson Valley itself. 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 Grayson Valley
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Grayson Valley is better than 33% of U.S. towns, #98 of 187 in Alabama. Job access by car holds Grayson Valley’s grade up (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (20.4%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Grayson Valley could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Who works in Grayson Valley, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 2,577 residents head out to work, 11 work right here, and 274 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,800 people are in Grayson Valley on a workday afternoon, 38% fewer than live here.
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 places Grayson Valley commutes to
Where Grayson Valley clocks in
40% of workers
7% 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 Grayson Valley’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Grayson Valley, 2013 → 2023: 329 → 285. 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 Grayson Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes to work from Grayson Valley
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Grayson Valley workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,709 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.
Where in the region Grayson Valley 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.
Most trips from Grayson Valley start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Grayson Valley is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns, #129 of 187 in Alabama. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% 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 3,098 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). 3.0% of Grayson Valley households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Grayson Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Grayson Valley is 2,371st of 3,307 U.S. towns of 4,300 to 8,200 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | Highland Lakes AL | 5,866 | $169K | 4.1% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 209 | Argo AL | 4,376 | $105K | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 264 | Redland AL | 4,982 | $130K | 1.4% | 2.5% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,369 | Galliano LA | 5,906 | $50K | 18.3% | 1.0% | 19% | C |
| 2,370 | Pigeon Forge TN | 6,598 | $53K | 21.0% | 3.5% | 37% | C |
| 2,371 | Grayson Valley AL | 6,077 | $65K | 20.4% | 6.1% | <1% | C |
| 2,372 | Attalla AL | 5,807 | $59K | 11.3% | 5.5% | 11% | C |
| 2,373 | Sawmills NC | 5,105 | $71K | 9.9% | 8.0% | 2% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,307 | 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 Grayson Valley, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
How Grayson Valley compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Trussville (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Grayson Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grayson Valley | – | C | C− | 25 min | $64,597 |
| Clay | under 2% | B− | C− | 32 min | $81,920 |
| Center Point | under 2% | C | A− | 31 min | $56,417 |
| Trussville | 6% | A+ | C | 27 min | $123,275 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Grayson Valley’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 Grayson Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Grayson Valley?
$64,597 (±$16,982) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Grayson Valley?
20.4%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Grayson Valley?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Grayson Valley work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Birmingham (40%, 12 mi), Hoover (7%, 21 mi), Trussville (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Grayson Valley walkable?
Grayson Valley is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Grayson Valley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Grayson Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Grayson Valley
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.