Riverside has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Employers in Riverside report 114 jobs; 905 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Riverside are B− for jobs and income and C− for walkability. A typical one-way commute lasts 28 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
The commute and the jobs: Riverside in brief
Riverside is a place people come home to
There are 114 jobs based in Riverside, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Riverside has about 1,500 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Riverside and Pell City trade workers both ways
Pell City is the top workplace for Riverside residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Riverside come from (12% of its jobs). 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; with 905 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Riverside: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Riverside is better than 47% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Riverside’s grade up ($83,664, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down (15.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
Unemployment (5.3%) is left out: Riverside’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Riverside could be anywhere from C to B+.
Riverside on a workday afternoon
On a workday 892 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 101 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Riverside on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
19% of working residents work in Pell City
Where Riverside clocks in
19% of workers
15% 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.
Jobs in Riverside: what the 114 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Riverside, 2013 → 2023: 169 → 114. 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 Riverside’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Riverside: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Riverside workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 869 commuters (the 4% 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.
How far it is to work from Riverside
About 19% 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.
The commute in Riverside is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Riverside is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Riverside 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 909 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). 0.6% of Riverside households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Riverside’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Riverside ranks: 2,411th of 5,328 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Indian Springs Village AL | 2,553 | $137K | 3.4% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 402 | Westover AL | 2,121 | $97K | 4.1% | 0.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 457 | Trinity AL | 2,638 | $101K | 3.1% | 2.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,409 | Phillipston MA | 1,794 | $95K | 5.7% | 9.8% | 4% | B− |
| 2,410 | Haines AK | 1,757 | $87K | 5.2% | 5.8% | — | B− |
| 2,411 | Riverside AL | 2,312 | $84K | 15.8% | 5.3% | 1% | B− |
| 2,412 | Haw River NC | 2,425 | $61K | 25.1% | 1.7% | 2% | B− |
| 2,413 | Lumberland NY | 2,306 | $103K | 10.0% | 3.8% | 7% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Riverside, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
The towns next door employ 19% of Riverside
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Pell City. Darker towns draw more of Riverside’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 Riverside: questions
What is the median household income in Riverside?
$83,664 (±$19,119) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Riverside?
15.8%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Riverside?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Riverside work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pell City (19%, 5 mi), Birmingham (15%, 35 mi), Hoover (4%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Riverside walkable?
Riverside is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Riverside without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Riverside, from the people who make the trip.
More of Riverside
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.