Mobile draws about two in five of Saraland’s working residents
Saraland grades B− for jobs and income and C− for walkability. About one in ten work in Saraland; the top destination outside it is Mobile (44%, 13 miles). Measured by household income, Saraland is behind 71% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Saraland in brief
The better-paid jobs are outside Saraland
59% of Saraland residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 38% of the jobs based in Saraland pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 91% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
Why Saraland gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Saraland is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #67 of 187 in Alabama. Job access by car holds Saraland’s grade up (ahead of 64% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($61,509, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Saraland could be anywhere from C to B+.
The kinds of work in Saraland
5,630 jobs are based in Saraland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Saraland, 2013 → 2023: 5,862 → 5,630. 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 Saraland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Saraland
On a workday 6,272 residents head out to work, 638 work right here, and 4,992 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 (0.81 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.
Where people from Saraland work
Where Saraland clocks in
44% of workers
2% 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.
A commute of about 26 minutes in Saraland
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Saraland workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,739 commuters (the 5% 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.
Where in the region Saraland works
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.
Driving is how Saraland gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Saraland is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns, #128 of 187 in Alabama. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.1% of 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 7,114 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). 3.1% of Saraland households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Saraland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Saraland is 1,198th among 1,888 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 22,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 394 | Chelsea AL | 17,716 | $115K | 2.7% | 3.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 560 | Gardendale AL | 16,425 | $82K | 4.3% | 3.4% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,196 | East Wenatchee WA | 14,414 | $78K | 8.0% | 4.6% | 11% | B− |
| 1,197 | Country Club Hills IL | 16,215 | $75K | 10.1% | 9.2% | 2% | B− |
| 1,198 | Saraland AL | 16,652 | $62K | 10.1% | 3.6% | 9% | B− |
| 1,199 | Byram MS | 12,707 | $70K | 9.1% | 5.4% | 4% | B− |
| 1,200 | St. Augustine FL | 16,141 | $78K | 14.1% | 3.8% | 27% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,888 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Saraland, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Next door is work for 51% of Saraland
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Saraland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saraland | – | B− | C− | 26 min | $61,509 |
| Chickasaw | under 1% | C | B− | 22 min | $46,559 |
| Mobile | 44% | C | B | 23 min | $53,558 |
| Satsuma | 2% | B+ | C− | 23 min | $101,042 |
| Prichard | 3% | D | B | 25 min | $36,588 |
| Creola | 1% | C | D | 26 min | $66,607 |
| Axis | 1% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Axis: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Mobile. Darker towns draw more of Saraland’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 Saraland: questions
What is the median household income in Saraland?
$61,509 (±$9,902) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Saraland?
10.1%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Saraland?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Saraland work?
9% work in town.
Is Saraland walkable?
Saraland is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Saraland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Saraland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Saraland
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.