Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Lanett earn less than those in 95% of U.S. towns
Only 7% stay in Lanett for work; outside it, West Point is the main destination (12%, 5 miles). Below the poverty line: 19.1% of residents (Alabama 15.6%). For jobs and income Lanett is better than 8% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (B+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Lanett, in brief
A lot of Lanett workers cross into Georgia
30% of Lanett workers work outside Alabama, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, West Point (12%) and LaGrange (11%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Lanett are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 26 across Alabama. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Alabama worker. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Lanett pay little
28% of the jobs based in Lanett pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Lanett
Job access by car holds Lanett’s grade up (ahead of 35% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($42,357, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lanett could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Out of Lanett to work: where people go
Where Lanett clocks in
12% of workers
11% of workers
11% 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.
A commute of about 19 minutes in Lanett
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lanett workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,748 commuters (the 3% 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.
Inside Lanett’s 1,142 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lanett, 2013 → 2023: 1,076 → 1,142. 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 Lanett’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Lanett
On a workday 2,357 residents head out to work, 170 work right here, and 972 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,400 people are in Lanett on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.45 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.
How many miles Lanett commutes
About 28% 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.
In Lanett, most people drive to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,827 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). 5.9% of Lanett households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lanett’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Lanett compares with U.S. towns of 4,700 to 9,200
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 143 | Meadowbrook AL | 9,117 | $142K | 5.5% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 155 | Highland Lakes AL | 5,866 | $169K | 4.1% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 274 | Redland AL | 4,982 | $130K | 1.4% | 2.5% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,112 | Morrilton AR | 7,195 | $48K | 25.5% | 10.3% | 26% | D |
| 3,113 | Lexington TN | 8,130 | $49K | 18.4% | 8.3% | 37% | D |
| 3,114 | Lanett AL | 6,781 | $42K | 19.1% | 7.3% | 7% | D |
| 3,115 | Willows CA | 6,116 | $64K | 19.3% | 8.4% | 23% | D |
| 3,116 | Hugo OK | 5,082 | $34K | 29.9% | 4.4% | 31% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,303 | 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 Lanett, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Around Lanett: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Valley (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Lanett’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 Lanett: questions
What is the median household income in Lanett?
$42,357 (±$17,487) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lanett?
19.1%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lanett?
19 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lanett work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are West Point (12%, 5 mi), LaGrange (11%, 15 mi), Opelika (11%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lanett walkable?
Lanett is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lanett without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lanett, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lanett
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.