Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainHouseholds in Jackson earn less than those in 97% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Jackson; the top destination outside it is Mobile (12%, 61 miles). 26.1% of residents are in poverty (Alabama 15.6%). Jobs and income earn Jackson D−; getting around on foot earns it C+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Jackson stands out on work
Jackson’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Jackson is Mobile, 61 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (220) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Jackson are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 26 across Alabama. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Alabama worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
41% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Why Jackson gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Jackson is near the bottom of U.S. towns, #185 of 187 in Alabama. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Jackson’s grade.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Jackson stays D−.
Half of Jackson commutes less than 33 miles
About 41% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Commuting from Jackson: about 14 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jackson workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,325 commuters (the 2% 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.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 1,409 residents head out to work, 419 work right here, and 1,802 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 (1.21 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.
Where Jackson goes to work
Where Jackson clocks in
12% of workers
5% of workers
3% 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.
Goods jobs make up 32% of work in Jackson
2,221 jobs are based in Jackson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jackson, 2013 → 2023: 2,576 → 2,221. 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 Jackson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Jackson, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Jackson is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns, #75 of 187 in Alabama. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.3% 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 1,350 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). 19.9% of Jackson households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Jackson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Jackson sits among U.S. towns of 3,100 to 6,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 114 | Eagle Point AL | 3,110 | $152K | 3.2% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 151 | Highland Lakes AL | 5,866 | $169K | 4.1% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 182 | Priceville AL | 3,952 | $117K | 2.2% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,975 | Welch WV | 3,389 | $33K | 28.2% | 0.0% | 28% | D− |
| 3,976 | Richfield Township MI | 3,575 | $47K | 29.6% | 10.8% | 7% | D− |
| 3,977 | Jackson AL | 4,452 | $38K | 26.1% | 18.4% | 23% | D− |
| 3,978 | Evergreen AL | 3,272 | $41K | 39.0% | 16.7% | 28% | D− |
| 3,979 | Dumas AR | 3,476 | $35K | 33.9% | 9.8% | 44% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,000 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Jackson, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
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 Jackson: questions
What is the median household income in Jackson?
$37,948 (±$10,833) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jackson?
26.1%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jackson?
14 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jackson work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mobile (12%, 61 mi), Grove Hill (5%, 13 mi), Thomasville (3%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jackson walkable?
Jackson is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jackson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 20% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jackson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jackson
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.