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Jobs & commute in Lester

Making a living in Lester

Home is the office for 0% of workers (Alabama 9%). Hardly any work in Lester; the top destination outside it is Athens (32%, 18 miles). A typical one-way commute from Lester lasts 42 minutes (Alabama 26, U.S. 26).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Lester quiets down on a workday

On a workday 38 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 0 people come in from elsewhere.

38live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
0work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night120
Workday84
120live here− 38head out to work+ 0come in to work= 84on a workday

About 84 people are in Lester on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.00jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.00 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.

The commute map

The towns that employ Lester’s residents

Elkmont: 1 residents work here (3%)LesterAthens: 12 residents work here (32%)Madison: 1 residents work here (3%)Huntsville: 10 residents work here (26%)Tuscaloosa: 1 residents work here (3%)Birmingham: 1 residents work here (3%)Decatur: 2 residents work here (5%)AthensHuntsvilleDecaturElkmontMadisonTuscaloosaLester
1
Athens17.9 mi away
32%12
2
Huntsville33.5 mi away
26%10
3
Decatur29.7 mi away
5%2
4
Elkmont10.6 mi away
3%1
5
Madison29.1 mi away
3%1
6
Tuscaloosa122.6 mi away
3%1
7
Birmingham102.5 mi away
3%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
26%10
The top trips

Where Lester clocks in

Lines 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.

Time on the road

Time on the road from Lester: about 42 minutes

A year of commuting
321 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.4 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Lester42 min
Alabama26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
0%

of Lester workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Lester gets to work
89%Drive alone
11%Carpool

Share of the 76 commuters (the 0% 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.

How far

Where in the region Lester works

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miAthens: 32% · 17.9 miHuntsville: 26% · 33.5 miDecatur: 5% · 29.7 miElkmont: 3% · 10.6 miMadison: 3% · 29.1 miTuscaloosa: 3% · 122.6 miBirmingham: 3% · 102.5 miAthens 32%Huntsville 26%Decatur 5%Elkmont 3%Lester
LesterTop destinations (size = commuters)
3%Under 10 mi1 residents
49%10–24 mi17 residents
43%25–50 mi15 residents
6%Over 50 mi2 residents

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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Lester: questions

What is the median household income in Lester?

$80,833 (±$25,418) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Lester?

12.7%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Lester?

42 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Lester work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Athens (32%, 18 mi), Huntsville (26%, 34 mi), Decatur (5%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Lester without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Lester, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Lester

Lester home →

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.