Photo: Rivers Langley · CC BY-SA 4.0Smiths Station has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income B−: better than 46% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #75 of 187 in Alabama.
Walkability C: more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns · #93 of 187 in Alabama.
Household incomes here are lower than in 66% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 22 minutes each way (Alabama 26, U.S. 26). Only 3% work in Smiths Station; the top destination outside it is Columbus (33%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Smiths Station
Many Smiths Station workers cross into Georgia
45% of Smiths Station workers work outside Alabama, most of them in Georgia, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
One in three of Smiths Station works in Columbus
614 working residents, 33%, have their main job in Columbus, GA, 13 miles away. That’s 11 times as many as work in Smiths Station itself. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Smiths Station than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Smiths Station fell from 1,154 in 2013 to 793 in 2023, −31%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
What’s behind Smiths Station’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Smiths Station is better than 46% of U.S. towns, #75 of 187 in Alabama. Unemployment holds Smiths Station’s grade up (2.0%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (14.1%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Smiths Station could be anywhere from C to B+.
33% of working residents work in Columbus
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Smiths Station clocks in
33% of workers
13% of workers
9% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 793 jobs in Smiths Station are
793 jobs are based in Smiths Station. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Smiths Station’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Smiths Station, 2013 → 2023: 1,154 → 793. 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.
Smiths Station quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,833 residents head out to work, 55 work right here, and 738 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,500 people are in Smiths Station on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.42 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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 22 minutes each way, quicker than most of Alabama
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Smiths Station workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,117 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.
Half of Smiths Station commutes less than 14 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 21% 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.
Most trips from Smiths Station start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Smiths Station is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns, #93 of 187 in Alabama. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 1.7% across Alabama, on an EPA index of 4.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,217 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). 4.5% of Smiths Station households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Smiths Station’s commuters take a bus or train.
Smiths Station is 2,096th of 3,561 U.S. towns of 3,900 to 7,600 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Smiths Station, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 162 | Highland Lakes AL | 5,866 | $169K | 4.1% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 186 | Priceville AL | 3,952 | $117K | 2.2% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 218 | Argo AL | 4,376 | $105K | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,094 | Lincoln ID | 4,002 | $84K | 18.4% | 4.5% | 2% | B− |
| 2,095 | Salida CO | 5,985 | $70K | 11.1% | 1.6% | 45% | B− |
| 2,096 | Smiths Station AL | 5,596 | $65K | 14.1% | 2.0% | 3% | B− |
| 2,097 | East Palestine OH | 4,613 | $50K | 15.6% | 1.5% | 10% | B− |
| 2,098 | Henry Township OH | 4,124 | $62K | 12.6% | 3.1% | 12% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,561 | 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.
13% of Smiths Station works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Phenix City (13%). Darker towns draw more of Smiths Station’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Smiths Station workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smiths Station | – | B− | C | 22 min | $64,669 |
| Phenix City | 13% | D | C+ | 22 min | $50,053 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Smiths Station: questions
What is the median household income in Smiths Station?
$64,669 (±$12,286) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Smiths Station?
14.1%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Smiths Station?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Smiths Station work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbus (33%, 13 mi), Phenix City (13%, 6 mi), Opelika (9%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Smiths Station walkable?
Smiths Station is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Smiths Station without a car?
<1% 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 Smiths Station, from the people who make the trip.
More of Smiths Station
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.