Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer) · CC BY 4.0Households in Red Bay have lower incomes than those in 97% of U.S. towns
About one in three stay in Red Bay for work; outside it, Russellville is the main destination (7%, 24 miles). 20.1% of residents live below the poverty line, against 15.6% across Alabama. The two grades for Red Bay are C− for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Red Bay
Red Bay makes and builds things
72% of the jobs based in Red Bay are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Red Bay residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 44%. The jobs ↓
Red Bay is where the jobs are
Red Bay has 2,786 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 4,600 people are in town, 43% more than the 3,200 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Red Bay are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 26 across Alabama. That’s about 46 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Red Bay
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Red Bay is better than 19% of U.S. towns, #139 of 187 in Alabama. Unemployment holds Red Bay’s grade up (2.8%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($37,473, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Red Bay could be anywhere from D to C+.
72% of the jobs in Red Bay make or build things
2,786 jobs are based in Red Bay.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Red Bay, 2013 → 2023: 2,302 → 2,786. 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 Red Bay’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Red Bay
On a workday 871 residents head out to work, 529 work right here, and 2,257 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,600 people are in Red Bay on a workday afternoon, 43% more than live here.
2.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
About 20 minutes each way for Red Bay’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Red Bay workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,370 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.
The towns that send workers to Red Bay
Where Red Bay clocks in
7% of workers
4% 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.
Where in the region Red Bay works
About 25% 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.
Most trips from Red Bay start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Red Bay is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns, #158 of 187 in Alabama. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below 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 1,391 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.8% of Red Bay households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Red Bay’s commuters take a bus or train.
3,798th of 4,698: where Red Bay ranks among U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 85 | Indian Springs Village AL | 2,553 | $137K | 3.4% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Eagle Point AL | 3,110 | $152K | 3.2% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 167 | Priceville AL | 3,952 | $117K | 2.2% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,796 | New London Township OH | 3,175 | $54K | 12.6% | 6.7% | 14% | C− |
| 3,797 | Elm Creek TX | 3,680 | $52K | 13.8% | 5.5% | 1% | C− |
| 3,798 | Red Bay AL | 3,196 | $37K | 20.1% | 2.8% | 38% | C− |
| 3,799 | Richlands NC | 2,485 | $65K | 11.1% | 9.7% | 6% | C− |
| 3,800 | Norwood NC | 2,568 | $52K | 8.5% | 6.6% | 9% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | 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 Red Bay, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
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 Red Bay: questions
What is the median household income in Red Bay?
$37,473 (±$14,051) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Red Bay?
20.1%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Red Bay?
20 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Red Bay work?
38% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Russellville (7%, 24 mi), Belmont (4%, 6 mi), Tupelo (4%, 36 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Red Bay walkable?
Red Bay is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Red Bay without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Red Bay, from the people who make the trip.
More of Red Bay
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.