Most of Margaret commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident
Measured by household income, Margaret is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. Employers in Margaret report 157 jobs for 2,416 working residents. For jobs and income Margaret is better than 91% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns (D).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Margaret, in a few figures
Margaret is a place people come home to
There are 157 jobs based in Margaret, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Margaret has about 4,900 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Margaret workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 26 across Alabama. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
28% of Margaret works in Birmingham
678 working residents, 28%, have their main job in Birmingham, 22 miles away. That’s far more as work in Margaret 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.
How Margaret earns its Jobs & income grade
Unemployment is its strongest input (1.6%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 60% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Margaret could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Who leaves Margaret for work, and who comes in
On a workday 2,405 residents head out to work, 11 work right here, and 146 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,900 people are in Margaret on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting from Margaret: about 33 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Margaret workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,736 commuters (the 12% 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.
28% of working residents work in Birmingham
Where Margaret clocks in
28% of workers
6% 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.
Jobs in Margaret: what the 157 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Margaret, 2013 → 2023: 9 → 157. 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 Margaret’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Margaret
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.
For most of Margaret, work means a drive
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 3,123 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). 3.8% of Margaret households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Margaret’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,205 U.S. towns of 5,000 to 9,700, Margaret comes 397th on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 145 | Meadowbrook AL | 9,117 | $142K | 5.5% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 157 | Highland Lakes AL | 5,866 | $169K | 4.1% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 394 | Brook Highland AL | 8,146 | $80K | 4.6% | 0.6% | <1% | A |
| 395 | Roxborough Park CO | 9,085 | $173K | 3.0% | 3.6% | 3% | A |
| 396 | Beckett Ridge OH | 9,496 | $116K | 5.2% | 3.4% | 4% | A |
| 397 | Margaret AL | 7,149 | $102K | 3.7% | 1.6% | <1% | A |
| 398 | Villa Hills KY | 7,797 | $108K | 3.7% | 3.6% | 1% | A |
| 399 | Herculaneum MO | 5,402 | $93K | 5.6% | 1.2% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,205 | 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 Margaret, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Around Margaret: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Trussville (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Margaret workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margaret | – | A | D | 33 min | $101,802 |
| Argo | under 3% | A+ | D | 34 min | $105,128 |
| Odenville | under 3% | B− | D | 33 min | $70,296 |
| Trussville | 5% | A+ | C | 27 min | $123,275 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Margaret’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 Margaret: questions
What is the median household income in Margaret?
$101,802 (±$18,775) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Margaret?
3.7%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Margaret?
33 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Margaret work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Birmingham (28%, 22 mi), Hoover (6%, 29 mi), Trussville (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Margaret walkable?
Margaret is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Margaret 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 Margaret, from the people who make the trip.
More of Margaret
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.