Newman, E.L., Lustron House · Photo: themidnite · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Sheffield are lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Sheffield C−; getting around on foot earns it B−. Below the poverty line: 26.6% of residents, against 15.6% across Alabama. About one in ten stay in Sheffield for work; outside it, Florence is the main destination (22%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Sheffield
Sheffield trades workers with the towns around it
Sheffield has about as many jobs (4,119) as working residents (3,559), but they are mostly different people: 3,186 residents leave for work each day while 3,746 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Sheffield are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Sheffield and Florence trade workers both ways
Florence is the top workplace for Sheffield residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Sheffield come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Sheffield are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 26 across Alabama. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Alabama worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Sheffield residents work close to home
62% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Fewer than half of Sheffield workers earn over $40,000 a year
44% of Sheffield’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 18% earn $1,250 a month or less. 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.
Inside Sheffield’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sheffield is better than 17% of U.S. towns, #142 of 187 in Alabama. Job access by car holds Sheffield’s grade up (ahead of 60% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($39,733, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sheffield could be anywhere from D to C.
A workday in Sheffield: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 3,186 residents head out to work, 373 work right here, and 3,746 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.
Commuting out of Sheffield: the destinations
Where Sheffield clocks in
22% of workers
6% 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.
The daily trip from Sheffield: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sheffield workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,565 commuters (the 7% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Sheffield
About 24% 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 kinds of work in Sheffield
4,119 jobs are based in Sheffield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sheffield, 2013 → 2023: 4,183 → 4,119. 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 Sheffield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Few in Sheffield walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sheffield is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns, #41 of 187 in Alabama. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% 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 3,815 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). 5.5% of Sheffield households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sheffield’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Sheffield is 2,467th of 2,806 U.S. towns of 6,600 to 12,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 140 | Meadowbrook AL | 9,117 | $142K | 5.5% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 293 | Pike Road AL | 11,899 | $117K | 5.1% | 0.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 387 | Brook Highland AL | 8,146 | $80K | 4.6% | 0.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,465 | Hillsdale MI | 8,002 | $51K | 22.9% | 4.4% | 29% | C− |
| 2,466 | Homestead Meadows South TX | 6,660 | $49K | 24.2% | 7.3% | 2% | C− |
| 2,467 | Sheffield AL | 9,416 | $40K | 26.6% | 5.2% | 10% | C− |
| 2,468 | Fort Morgan CO | 11,841 | $64K | 16.0% | 6.4% | 46% | C− |
| 2,469 | Niles MI | 11,665 | $51K | 17.8% | 10.8% | 13% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,806 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Sheffield, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Work next door: 24% of Sheffield’s workers
The biggest share goes to Muscle Shoals (19%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sheffield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield | – | C− | B− | 19 min | $39,733 |
| Muscle Shoals | 19% | B | B− | 22 min | $75,894 |
| Tuscumbia | 5% | B− | A− | 23 min | $59,143 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sheffield’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 Sheffield: questions
What is the median household income in Sheffield?
$39,733 (±$5,945) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sheffield?
26.6%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sheffield?
19 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sheffield work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Florence (22%, 5 mi), Muscle Shoals (19%, 4 mi), Huntsville (6%, 58 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sheffield walkable?
Sheffield is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sheffield 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 Sheffield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sheffield
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.