Midfield’s household incomes are lower than in 84% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 24.6% of residents, next to 15.6% for Alabama as a whole. Midfield grades C− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.1 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 4.0 in Birmingham.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Midfield, in a few figures
Midfield and Birmingham trade workers both ways
Birmingham is the top workplace for Midfield residents (37%) and also where the most people who work in Midfield come from (24% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Midfield residents work close to home
60% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Midfield
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Midfield is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #121 of 187 in Alabama. Job access by car holds Midfield’s grade up (ahead of 86% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Midfield could be anywhere from D to B−.
37% of working residents work in Birmingham
Where Midfield clocks in
37% of workers
11% of workers
7% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Midfield
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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Midfield
On a workday 1,933 residents head out to work, 38 work right here, and 1,452 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,400 people are in Midfield on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 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.
What the 1,490 jobs in Midfield are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Midfield, 2013 → 2023: 1,689 → 1,490. 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 Midfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes each way, about the AL average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Midfield workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,928 commuters (the 5% 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.
In Midfield, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Midfield is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #10 of 187 in Alabama. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above 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 2,036 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 52% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, <1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 59% 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). 9.7% of Midfield households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Midfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,840 U.S. towns of 3,400 to 6,600, Midfield comes 3,039th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 163 | Highland Lakes AL | 5,866 | $169K | 4.1% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 190 | Priceville AL | 3,952 | $117K | 2.2% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 228 | Argo AL | 4,376 | $105K | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,037 | Sidney NE | 6,432 | $55K | 16.2% | 3.1% | 56% | C− |
| 3,038 | Idyllwild-Pine Cove CA | 3,957 | $74K | 12.3% | 5.0% | 27% | C− |
| 3,039 | Midfield AL | 4,906 | $53K | 24.6% | 7.2% | 2% | C− |
| 3,040 | Brookfield MO | 4,083 | $53K | 14.3% | 3.1% | 44% | C− |
| 3,041 | Woodstock VA | 6,002 | $76K | 22.1% | 5.6% | 21% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,840 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Midfield, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Work next door: 37% of Midfield’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Midfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midfield | – | C− | A− | 24 min | $52,755 |
| Fairfield | under 2% | C− | A− | 21 min | $48,456 |
| Birmingham | 37% | C | A | 21 min | $46,051 |
| Brighton | under 2% | D | B+ | 26 min | $38,221 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Birmingham. Darker towns draw more of Midfield’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 Midfield: questions
What is the median household income in Midfield?
$52,755 (±$11,828) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Midfield?
24.6%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Midfield?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Midfield work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Birmingham (37%, 9 mi), Bessemer (11%, 6 mi), Hoover (7%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Midfield walkable?
Midfield is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Midfield without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. <1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Midfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Midfield
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.