Households in Locust Fork have lower incomes than those in 88% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Locust Fork are C− for jobs and income and D for walkability. Poverty touches 18.7% of residents, where Alabama as a whole has 15.6%. Only 2% work in Locust Fork; the top destination outside it is Birmingham (27%, 28 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Locust Fork
Locust Fork’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Locust Fork is Birmingham, 28 miles away as the crow flies. 27% of working residents (132) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Locust Fork workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 26 across Alabama. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 498 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Locust Fork: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Locust Fork is better than 16% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Locust Fork’s grade up (ahead of 46% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($50,000, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (4.5%) is left out: Locust Fork’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Locust Fork could be anywhere from D to B.
How many miles Locust Fork commutes
About 17% 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.
How long Locust Fork spends getting to work: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Locust Fork workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 545 commuters (the 6% 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 commutes out of Locust Fork, and who commutes in
On a workday 490 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 286 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Locust Fork on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.59 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.
Where people from Locust Fork work
Where Locust Fork clocks in
27% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Locust Fork
294 jobs are based in Locust Fork.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Locust Fork, 2013 → 2023: 272 → 294. 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 Locust Fork’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute in Locust Fork is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Locust Fork is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Locust Fork near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 578 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). 7.4% of Locust Fork households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Locust Fork’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700, Locust Fork ranks 3,592nd of 4,866 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Shoal Creek AL | 1,328 | $218K | 0.0% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 274 | Rock Creek AL | 1,103 | $84K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 294 | Blue Ridge AL | 1,190 | $128K | 6.2% | 0.0% | 0% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,590 | Jefferson Township IN | 1,566 | $67K | 17.9% | 1.0% | 2% | C− |
| 3,591 | Berkshire VT | 1,605 | $71K | 14.6% | 0.3% | 4% | C− |
| 3,592 | Locust Fork AL | 1,234 | $50K | 18.7% | 4.5% | 2% | C− |
| 3,593 | Bethany IL | 1,200 | $45K | 12.3% | 2.6% | 5% | C− |
| 3,594 | Kingsford Heights IN | 1,500 | $58K | 26.7% | 1.1% | 3% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Locust Fork, 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 Locust Fork: questions
What is the median household income in Locust Fork?
$50,000 (±$29,420) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Locust Fork?
18.7%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Locust Fork?
34 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Locust Fork work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Birmingham (27%, 28 mi), Oneonta (4%, 8 mi), Huntsville (4%, 55 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Locust Fork walkable?
Locust Fork is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Locust Fork without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Locust Fork, from the people who make the trip.
More of Locust Fork
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.