Russell County Courthouse at Seale · Photo: Rivers Langley SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Ladonia (10.7%) is higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Ladonia is better than 9% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (B+). Household incomes here are lower than in 83% of U.S. towns. Only 2% work in Ladonia; the top destination outside it is Columbus (32%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Ladonia: the gist
Many Ladonia workers cross into Georgia
57% of Ladonia workers work outside Alabama, most of them in Georgia, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Ladonia has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Ladonia went from 389 in 2013 to 678 in 2023, +74%. The jobs ↓
One in three of Ladonia works in Columbus
343 working residents, 32%, have their main job in Columbus, GA, 13 miles away. That’s 16 times as many as work in Ladonia 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Ladonia gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Job access by car holds Ladonia’s grade up (ahead of 29% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ladonia could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Where people from Ladonia work
Where Ladonia clocks in
32% of workers
14% of workers
5% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Ladonia
678 jobs are based in Ladonia.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ladonia, 2013 → 2023: 389 → 678. 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 Ladonia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Ladonia quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,045 residents head out to work, 19 work right here, and 659 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,000 people are in Ladonia on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.64 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.
Getting to work from Ladonia takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ladonia workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,178 commuters (the 9% 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 distance from Ladonia to work
About 25% 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.
Getting around Ladonia: mostly by car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 1.7% across Alabama, on an EPA index of 7.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,289 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). 3.9% of Ladonia households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ladonia’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,500, and where Ladonia sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | Indian Springs Village AL | 2,553 | $137K | 3.4% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 112 | Eagle Point AL | 3,110 | $152K | 3.2% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 176 | Priceville AL | 3,952 | $117K | 2.2% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,170 | Ruidoso Downs NM | 2,588 | $31K | 40.5% | 3.4% | 12% | D |
| 4,171 | Llano TX | 3,587 | $48K | 14.8% | 6.1% | 33% | D |
| 4,172 | Ladonia AL | 3,346 | $53K | 16.0% | 10.7% | 2% | D |
| 4,173 | Piney AR | 4,458 | $51K | 28.5% | 9.2% | 7% | D |
| 4,174 | Bayview CA | 2,803 | $48K | 22.9% | 9.3% | 2% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,593 | 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 Ladonia, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Bordering towns draw 14% of Ladonia’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ladonia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladonia | – | D | B+ | 24 min | $53,441 |
| Phenix City | 14% | D | C+ | 22 min | $50,053 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Phenix City. Darker towns draw more of Ladonia’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 Ladonia: questions
What is the median household income in Ladonia?
$53,441 (±$6,791) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ladonia?
16.0%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ladonia?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ladonia work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbus (32%, 13 mi), Phenix City (14%, 4 mi), Opelika (5%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ladonia walkable?
Ladonia is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ladonia without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ladonia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ladonia
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.