Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Where Powell earns its living
Working from home is the commute for 2% of workers; Alabama has 9%. About one in ten stay in Powell for work; outside it, Fort Payne is the main destination (15%, 13 miles). Commuters spend 22 minutes getting to work on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How a workday changes Powell
On a workday 349 residents head out to work, 45 work right here, and 356 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 (1.02 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.
Out of Powell to work: where people go
Where Powell clocks in
11% 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.
Goods, not services: 34% of the jobs in Powell
401 jobs are based in Powell.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Powell, 2013 → 2023: 408 → 401. 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 Powell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Powell takes about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Powell workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 342 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Powell
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.
Powell and its neighbors: 11% work next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Powell workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powell | – | — | — | 22 min | $61,786 |
| Rainsville | 11% | B | C− | 19 min | $74,046 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Rainsville. Darker towns draw more of Powell’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 Powell: questions
What is the median household income in Powell?
$61,786 (±$5,355) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Powell?
30.8%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Powell?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Powell work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Payne (15%, 13 mi), Rainsville (11%, 4 mi), Huntsville (11%, 46 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Powell without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Powell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Powell
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.