Photo: Shannon McGee · CC BY-SA 2.0Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Valley Head
Only 2% stay in Valley Head for work; outside it, Fort Payne is the main destination (38%, 8 miles). 0% of workers work from home (Alabama 9%). The average commute takes 50 minutes each way, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Valley Head stands out on work
Valley Head workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 50 minutes each way, against 26 across Alabama. Over a year that’s about 383 hours of commuting, 184 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (17 to 26 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Valley Head than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Valley Head fell from 488 in 2013 to 197 in 2023, −60%. 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 ↓
38% of Valley Head works in Fort Payne
80 working residents, 38%, have their main job in Fort Payne, 7.8 miles away across the town line. That’s 19 times as many as work in Valley Head itself. 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 213 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The trip to work from Valley Head: about 50 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 16 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Valley Head workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 227 commuters (the 0% 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.
Valley Head works in goods: 46% of its jobs
197 jobs are based in Valley Head.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Valley Head, 2013 → 2023: 488 → 197. 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 Valley Head’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where people from Valley Head work
Where Valley Head clocks in
5% of workers
5% 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 flow of workers through Valley Head
On a workday 208 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 192 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 (0.92 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.
How far it is to work from Valley Head
About 26% 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.
Next door is work for 42% of Valley Head
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Valley Head workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Head | – | — | — | 50 min | $45,889 |
| Fort Payne | 38% | D | C+ | 17 min | $47,479 |
| Hammondville | 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Mentone | 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Hammondville and Mentone: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Fort Payne. Darker towns draw more of Valley Head’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 Valley Head: questions
What is the median household income in Valley Head?
$45,889 (±$1,798) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Valley Head?
6.0%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Valley Head?
50 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Valley Head work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Payne (38%, 8 mi), Montgomery (5%, 157 mi), Chattanooga (5%, 41 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Valley Head 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 Valley Head, from the people who make the trip.
More of Valley Head
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.