Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0Work, pay and getting to work in Oak Grove
Only 2% work in Oak Grove itself; outside it, Sylacauga draws the most (19%, 3 miles). Working from home is the commute for 2% of workers, against 9% across Alabama. A typical one-way commute lasts 18 minutes, next to 26 for Alabama and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Oak Grove
Oak Grove and Sylacauga trade workers both ways
Sylacauga is the top workplace for Oak Grove residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Oak Grove come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Oak Grove are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 26 across Alabama. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Alabama worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 243 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Out of Oak Grove to work: where people go
Where Oak Grove clocks in
19% of workers
7% 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.
About 18 minutes each way for Oak Grove’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oak Grove workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 279 commuters (the 2% 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 and out of Oak Grove on a workday
On a workday 237 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 275 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.16 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 work there is in Oak Grove: 281 jobs
281 jobs are based in Oak Grove.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oak Grove, 2013 → 2023: 236 → 281. 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 Oak Grove’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Oak Grove to work
About 17% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Bordering towns draw 22% of Oak Grove’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oak Grove workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Grove | – | — | — | 18 min | $47,857 |
| Sylacauga | 19% | D | C+ | 24 min | $50,017 |
| Childersburg | 3% | D | C− | 28 min | $52,338 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Sylacauga. Darker towns draw more of Oak Grove’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 Oak Grove: questions
What is the median household income in Oak Grove?
$47,857 (±$18,627) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oak Grove?
7.2%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oak Grove?
18 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oak Grove work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sylacauga (19%, 3 mi), Birmingham (7%, 37 mi), Hoover (4%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Oak Grove without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oak Grove, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oak Grove
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.