At 1.2%, unemployment in Mount Olive is lower than in 93% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Mount Olive are B+ for jobs and income and D for walkability. Only 1% work in Mount Olive; the top destination outside it is Birmingham (35%, 11 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 26 minutes; Alabama averages 26, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Mount Olive in brief
Mount Olive is a place people come home to
There are 193 jobs based in Mount Olive, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Mount Olive has about 1,900 people in it, 48% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
One in three of Mount Olive works in Birmingham
663 working residents, 35%, have their main job in Birmingham, 11 miles away. That’s 35 times as many as work in Mount Olive 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 Mount Olive earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mount Olive is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #34 of 187 in Alabama. Unemployment holds Mount Olive’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (12.1%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mount Olive could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Mount Olive on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,875 residents head out to work, 20 work right here, and 173 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Mount Olive on a workday afternoon, 48% fewer than live here.
0.10 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.
Where people from Mount Olive work
Where Mount Olive clocks in
35% 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.
Inside Mount Olive’s 193 jobs
193 jobs are based in Mount Olive.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mount Olive, 2013 → 2023: 270 → 193. 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 Mount Olive’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Mount Olive takes about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mount Olive workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,432 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.
The commute from Mount Olive, by distance
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.
Mount Olive is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mount Olive is more walkable than 15% of U.S. towns, #157 of 187 in Alabama. Both inputs place Mount Olive near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,673 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 20% 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). 0.0% of Mount Olive households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Mount Olive’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Mount Olive is 1,060th of 4,355 U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Indian Springs Village AL | 2,553 | $137K | 3.4% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 117 | Eagle Point AL | 3,110 | $152K | 3.2% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 182 | Priceville AL | 3,952 | $117K | 2.2% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,058 | North Franklin Township PA | 4,726 | $77K | 9.0% | 1.3% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,059 | Scott Township PA | 4,736 | $93K | 5.9% | 3.5% | 9% | B+ |
| 1,060 | Mount Olive AL | 3,567 | $82K | 12.1% | 1.2% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,061 | Day Valley CA | 3,579 | $155K | 4.1% | 5.6% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,062 | Park Hills KY | 3,188 | $100K | 7.5% | 5.2% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | 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 Mount Olive, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
The towns around Mount Olive
The biggest share goes to Gardendale (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mount Olive workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Olive | – | B+ | D | 26 min | $82,234 |
| Gardendale | 7% | A− | C | 26 min | $82,192 |
| Brookside | under 2% | C | D | 27 min | $59,271 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Mount Olive’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 Mount Olive: questions
What is the median household income in Mount Olive?
$82,234 (±$18,832) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mount Olive?
12.1%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mount Olive?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mount Olive work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Birmingham (35%, 11 mi), Gardendale (7%, 4 mi), Homewood (6%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mount Olive walkable?
Mount Olive is more walkable than 15% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mount Olive without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mount Olive, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mount Olive
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.