With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of McDonald Chapel works elsewhere
There are 14 jobs in McDonald Chapel for 257 working residents. The average commute takes 30 minutes each way (Alabama 26, U.S. 26). Home is the office for 14% of workers; Alabama has 9%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
McDonald Chapel at work: what stands out
McDonald Chapel is a place people come home to
There are 14 jobs based in McDonald Chapel, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday McDonald Chapel has about 410 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
38% of McDonald Chapel works in Birmingham
98 working residents, 38%, have their main job in Birmingham, 8.2 miles away across the town line. That’s far more as work in McDonald Chapel itself. The commute map ↓
A longer commute than the towns next door
McDonald Chapel averages 30 minutes each way, more than any bordering town (20 to 26 minutes). Next door ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 257 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Who works in McDonald Chapel, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 257 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 14 people come in from elsewhere.
About 410 people are in McDonald Chapel on a workday afternoon, 37% 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 2024, primary jobs.
38% of working residents work in Birmingham
Where McDonald Chapel clocks in
38% 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.
What McDonald Chapel’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in McDonald Chapel, 2014 → 2024: 5 → 14. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs McDonald Chapel’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 30 minutes each way for McDonald Chapel’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of McDonald Chapel workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 222 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.
How many miles McDonald Chapel commutes
About 18% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Next door is work for 38% of McDonald Chapel
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | McDonald Chapel workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald Chapel | – | — | — | 30 min | $56,971 |
| Birmingham | 38% | C | A | 21 min | $46,051 |
| Edgewater | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Pleasant Grove | under 2% | B | C− | 26 min | $70,317 |
Same-state neighbors only. Edgewater: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Birmingham. Darker towns draw more of McDonald Chapel’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 2024, 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 McDonald Chapel: questions
What is the median household income in McDonald Chapel?
$56,971 (±$24,320) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in McDonald Chapel?
13.1%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from McDonald Chapel?
30 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in McDonald Chapel work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Birmingham (38%, 8 mi), Homewood (4%, 8 mi), Vestavia Hills (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around McDonald Chapel 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 McDonald Chapel, from the people who make the trip.
More of McDonald Chapel
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.