Shawmut Historic District · Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Valley works elsewhere
For jobs and income Valley is better than 28% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 22% of U.S. towns (C−). Valley has 2,247 jobs; 4,215 of its residents have a job. Household incomes here are lower than in 86% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Valley apart on work
A lot of Valley workers cross into Georgia
31% of Valley workers work outside Alabama, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, West Point (9%) and LaGrange (8%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Valley than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Valley fell from 3,057 in 2013 to 2,247 in 2023, −26%. 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 Valley’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Valley’s grade up (3.5%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($51,661, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Valley could be anywhere from D to B−.
15% of working residents work in Opelika
Where Valley clocks in
15% of workers
9% of workers
8% 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.
What Valley’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Valley, 2013 → 2023: 3,057 → 2,247. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Valley
On a workday 3,859 residents head out to work, 356 work right here, and 1,891 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,300 people are in Valley on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The trip to work from Valley: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Valley workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,231 commuters (the 4% 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.
Miles to work from Valley
About 25% 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.
Getting around Valley: mostly by car
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 4,430 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). 6.8% of Valley households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Valley next to U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000: 2,260th of 2,878 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 135 | Meadowbrook AL | 9,117 | $142K | 5.5% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 302 | Pike Road AL | 11,899 | $117K | 5.1% | 0.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 395 | Brook Highland AL | 8,146 | $80K | 4.6% | 0.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,258 | Washington IN | 12,991 | $50K | 18.2% | 2.8% | 32% | C |
| 2,259 | Micco FL | 8,896 | $46K | 11.7% | 3.8% | 6% | C |
| 2,260 | Valley AL | 10,294 | $52K | 14.9% | 3.5% | 8% | C |
| 2,261 | Globe AZ | 7,191 | $69K | 16.4% | 3.0% | 30% | C |
| 2,262 | Dade City FL | 10,173 | $70K | 11.2% | 8.1% | 8% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | 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 Valley, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Around Valley: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Lanett (4%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Valley’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: questions
What is the median household income in Valley?
$51,661 (±$6,260) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Valley?
14.9%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Valley?
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 Valley work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Opelika (15%, 15 mi), West Point (9%, 7 mi), LaGrange (8%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Valley walkable?
Valley is more walkable than 22% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Valley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Valley
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.