Photo: DwayneP · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in McCalla are higher than in 65% of U.S. towns
McCalla grades A− for jobs and income and D for walkability. 6.3% of residents live below the poverty line; Alabama has 15.6%. Only 3% work in McCalla; the top destination outside it is Birmingham (27%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from McCalla, in brief
McCalla and Birmingham trade workers both ways
Birmingham is the top workplace for McCalla residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in McCalla come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
McCalla makes and builds things
40% of the jobs based in McCalla are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs McCalla residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 18%. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
40% of the jobs in McCalla are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
The figures behind McCalla’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, McCalla is better than 76% of U.S. towns, #32 of 187 in Alabama. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, McCalla could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Where people from McCalla work
Where McCalla clocks in
27% of workers
12% 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.
40% of the jobs in McCalla make or build things
3,407 jobs are based in McCalla.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in McCalla, 2013 → 2023: 2,992 → 3,407. 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 McCalla’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in McCalla by day
On a workday 5,225 residents head out to work, 143 work right here, and 3,264 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in McCalla on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.63 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 daily trip from McCalla: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of McCalla workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,052 commuters (the 14% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from McCalla
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 McCalla, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, McCalla is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns, #166 of 187 in Alabama. 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 5,880 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 41% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.5% of McCalla households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of McCalla’s commuters take a bus or train.
McCalla next to U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000: 890th of 2,526 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 133 | Meadowbrook AL | 9,117 | $142K | 5.5% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 277 | Pike Road AL | 11,899 | $117K | 5.1% | 0.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 492 | Chelsea AL | 17,716 | $115K | 2.7% | 3.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 888 | Long Lake Township MI | 10,101 | $96K | 3.6% | 3.0% | 3% | A− |
| 889 | Monclova Township OH | 14,871 | $118K | 4.3% | 6.2% | 6% | A− |
| 890 | McCalla AL | 13,253 | $87K | 6.3% | 3.8% | 3% | A− |
| 891 | New Franklin OH | 13,873 | $90K | 6.1% | 4.0% | 5% | A− |
| 892 | Perkins Township OH | 12,302 | $77K | 5.7% | 2.0% | 18% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 McCalla, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Work next door: 12% of McCalla’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Bessemer. Darker towns draw more of McCalla’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 McCalla: questions
What is the median household income in McCalla?
$87,468 (±$12,029) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in McCalla?
6.3%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from McCalla?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in McCalla work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Birmingham (27%, 20 mi), Bessemer (12%, 6 mi), Hoover (11%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is McCalla walkable?
McCalla is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around McCalla without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from McCalla, from the people who make the trip.
More of McCalla
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.