Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0For more than half of its working residents, Theodore is a commute to Mobile
The average commute, 25 minutes each way, matches the Alabama norm. Theodore grades B− for jobs and income and D for walkability. Only 1% work in Theodore itself; outside it, Mobile draws the most (51%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Theodore apart on work
Theodore empties out on a workday
About 3,500 people are in Theodore on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than the 5,000 who live here: 2,300 head out to work and 850 come in. Day and night ↓
Few Theodore workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 9% across Alabama. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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.
Why Theodore gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Theodore is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #70 of 187 in Alabama. Unemployment holds Theodore’s grade up (2.5%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (20.7%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Theodore could be anywhere from C to B+.
How a workday changes Theodore
On a workday 2,334 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 854 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,500 people are in Theodore on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.37 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.
Each way, about 25 minutes from Theodore
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Theodore workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,394 commuters (the 3% 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 the trip to work from Theodore ends
Where Theodore clocks in
51% of workers
3% 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.
Theodore makes things: 31% of its jobs are in goods
881 jobs are based in Theodore.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Theodore, 2013 → 2023: 702 → 881. 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 Theodore’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Theodore, by distance
About 15% 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.
For most of Theodore, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Theodore is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns, #169 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 2,474 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). 2.0% of Theodore households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Theodore’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Theodore is 2,023rd among 3,692 U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 159 | Highland Lakes AL | 5,866 | $169K | 4.1% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 184 | Priceville AL | 3,952 | $117K | 2.2% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 220 | Argo AL | 4,376 | $105K | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,021 | Root Township IN | 6,163 | $63K | 12.1% | 2.9% | 14% | B− |
| 2,022 | Bullskin Township PA | 6,453 | $70K | 8.7% | 4.4% | 6% | B− |
| 2,023 | Theodore AL | 4,964 | $68K | 20.7% | 2.5% | 1% | B− |
| 2,024 | Los Chaves NM | 4,838 | $80K | 24.8% | 1.6% | 3% | B− |
| 2,025 | White Bluff TN | 4,516 | $69K | 10.2% | 4.8% | 6% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,692 | 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 Theodore, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Next door is work for 54% of Theodore
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Theodore workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theodore | – | B− | D | 25 min | $67,864 |
| Mobile | 51% | C | B | 23 min | $53,558 |
| Tillmans Corner | 3% | C− | B− | 26 min | $60,837 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Mobile. Darker towns draw more of Theodore’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 Theodore: questions
What is the median household income in Theodore?
$67,864 (±$10,256) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Theodore?
20.7%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Theodore?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Theodore work?
1% work in town.
Is Theodore walkable?
Theodore is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Theodore without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Theodore, from the people who make the trip.
More of Theodore
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.