Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Irondale (8.5%) than in 90% of U.S. towns
Irondale grades C+ for jobs and income and C for walkability. Only 5% work in Irondale itself; outside it, Birmingham draws the most (40%, 8 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 22 minutes; Alabama averages 26, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Irondale, in brief
Much of Irondale works one town over
50% of working residents work in a town that borders Irondale: Birmingham (40%), Vestavia Hills (4%) and Trussville (3%). Next door ↓
Irondale is where the jobs are
Irondale has 8,968 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Irondale draws workers from far and wide
The 8,968 jobs in Irondale are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 33%; the other 64% 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 Irondale
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Irondale is better than 39% of U.S. towns, #87 of 187 in Alabama. Job access by car holds Irondale’s grade up (ahead of 86% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Irondale could be anywhere from C to B+.
A workday in Irondale: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 5,111 residents head out to work, 268 work right here, and 8,700 people come in from elsewhere.
About 17,000 people are in Irondale on a workday afternoon, 26% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where Irondale’s workforce comes from
Where Irondale clocks in
40% of workers
7% 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.
65% of the jobs in Irondale pay over $3,333 a month
8,968 jobs are based in Irondale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Irondale, 2013 → 2023: 7,448 → 8,968. 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 Irondale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Irondale: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Irondale workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,876 commuters (the 11% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Irondale
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 Irondale, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Irondale is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns, #85 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 6,592 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 2% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, <1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 44% 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). 4.5% of Irondale households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Irondale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000, Irondale ranks 1,798th of 2,526 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 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 133 | Meadowbrook AL | 9,117 | $142K | 5.5% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 277 | Pike Road AL | 11,899 | $117K | 5.1% | 0.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 492 | Chelsea AL | 17,716 | $115K | 2.7% | 3.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,796 | Country Club CA | 10,161 | $81K | 15.4% | 10.4% | 1% | C+ |
| 1,797 | Somers Point NJ | 10,590 | $71K | 9.2% | 10.5% | 12% | C+ |
| 1,798 | Irondale AL | 13,545 | $72K | 15.2% | 8.5% | 5% | C+ |
| 1,799 | Lenoir City TN | 12,530 | $67K | 17.0% | 5.1% | 11% | C+ |
| 1,800 | Mango FL | 13,242 | $53K | 14.6% | 5.3% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | 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 Irondale, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
50% of Irondale works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Irondale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irondale | – | C+ | C | 22 min | $72,343 |
| Birmingham | 40% | C | A | 21 min | $46,051 |
| Trussville | 3% | A+ | C | 27 min | $123,275 |
| Leeds | under 2% | B | C | 27 min | $69,737 |
| Vestavia Hills | 4% | A | B | 19 min | $134,369 |
| Mountain Brook | 3% | A+ | B− | 16 min | $201,479 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Birmingham. Darker towns draw more of Irondale’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 Irondale: questions
What is the median household income in Irondale?
$72,343 (±$7,182) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Irondale?
15.2%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Irondale?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Irondale work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Birmingham (40%, 8 mi), Hoover (7%, 14 mi), Homewood (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Irondale walkable?
Irondale is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Irondale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. <1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Irondale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Irondale
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.