Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Luverne trail those of 94% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Luverne itself; outside it, Montgomery draws the most (11%, 44 miles). Below the poverty line: 25.1% of residents, next to 15.6% across Alabama. For jobs and income Luverne is better than 4% of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns (C−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Luverne in brief
Luverne’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Luverne is Montgomery, 44 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (126) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Luverne than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Luverne fell from 2,363 in 2013 to 1,638 in 2023, −31%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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 Luverne
Unemployment holds Luverne’s grade up (6.3%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($43,269, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Luverne could be anywhere from D− to C+.
How far Luverne’s workers travel
About 23% 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.
Inside Luverne’s 1,638 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Luverne, 2013 → 2023: 2,363 → 1,638. 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 Luverne’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Luverne
On a workday 926 residents head out to work, 263 work right here, and 1,375 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Luverne on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.38 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.
The towns that employ Luverne’s residents
Where Luverne clocks in
11% 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.
About 27 minutes to work from Luverne
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Luverne workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 993 commuters (the 4% 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 commute in Luverne is mostly behind the wheel
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,031 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). 9.5% of Luverne households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Luverne’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,600, and where Luverne sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Indian Springs Village AL | 2,553 | $137K | 3.4% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 92 | Eagle Point AL | 3,110 | $152K | 3.2% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 244 | Emerald Mountain AL | 3,535 | $123K | 2.2% | 1.8% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | Buffalo TX | 1,906 | $45K | 18.4% | 7.6% | 15% | D− |
| 4,536 | Park Falls WI | 2,359 | $55K | 21.9% | 1.1% | 38% | D− |
| 4,537 | Luverne AL | 2,690 | $43K | 25.1% | 6.3% | 22% | D− |
| 4,538 | Morgantown KY | 2,512 | $38K | 37.3% | 12.9% | 29% | D− |
| 4,539 | Gladwin MI | 3,140 | $43K | 17.4% | 9.5% | 25% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,797 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Luverne, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Around Luverne: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Rutledge (1%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Luverne workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luverne | – | D− | C− | 27 min | $43,269 |
| Rutledge | 1% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Rutledge: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Luverne’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 Luverne: questions
What is the median household income in Luverne?
$43,269 (±$14,486) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Luverne?
25.1%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Luverne?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Luverne work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Montgomery (11%, 44 mi), Troy (10%, 19 mi), Dothan (3%, 61 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Luverne walkable?
Luverne is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Luverne without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Luverne, from the people who make the trip.
More of Luverne
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.