Photo: DwayneP · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Vance (1.3%) than in 92% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 72% of U.S. towns. Vance grades A for jobs and income and D− for walkability. Commuters spend 33 minutes getting to work on average; the Alabama average is 26, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Vance in brief
Vance and Tuscaloosa trade workers both ways
Tuscaloosa is the top workplace for Vance residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Vance come from (27% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Vance has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Vance went from 576 in 2013 to 953 in 2023, +65%. The jobs ↓
Vance workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 26 across Alabama. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. 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; with 789 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Vance’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Vance is better than 85% of U.S. towns. Unemployment is its strongest input; the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (7.3%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Vance could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
25% of working residents work in Tuscaloosa
Where Vance clocks in
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.
Inside Vance’s 953 jobs
953 jobs are based in Vance.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Vance, 2013 → 2023: 576 → 953. 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 Vance’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Vance: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Vance workers work from home, vs 9% across Alabama. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,057 commuters (the 8% 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.
Vance on a workday afternoon
On a workday 784 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 948 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 (1.21 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 Vance
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.
Vance is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Vance is near the bottom of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Vance near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,148 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). 0.6% of Vance households have no vehicle (Alabama 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Vance’s commuters take a bus or train.
Vance is 527th of 5,328 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Indian Springs Village AL | 2,553 | $137K | 3.4% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 402 | Westover AL | 2,121 | $97K | 4.1% | 0.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 457 | Trinity AL | 2,638 | $101K | 3.1% | 2.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 525 | Edgewood PA | 2,997 | $103K | 5.3% | 4.4% | 3% | A |
| 526 | Prairie Ronde Township MI | 2,402 | $126K | 3.7% | 3.4% | 1% | A |
| 527 | Vance AL | 2,332 | $95K | 7.3% | 1.3% | 1% | A |
| 528 | Big Rock Township IL | 1,739 | $158K | 10.7% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| 529 | Jackson Township IN | 1,760 | $101K | 0.9% | 1.1% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Vance, the top three, the last and three more from Alabama.
Vance and its neighbors: 25% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Vance workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vance | – | A | D− | 33 min | $94,545 |
| Tuscaloosa | 25% | C+ | A− | 20 min | $51,464 |
| Woodstock | under 1% | C+ | C+ | 29 min | $73,438 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Tuscaloosa. Darker towns draw more of Vance’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 Vance: questions
What is the median household income in Vance?
$94,545 (±$10,530) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,999 across Alabama and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Vance?
7.3%, against 15.6% across Alabama and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Vance?
33 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Alabama and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Vance work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tuscaloosa (25%, 18 mi), Bessemer (6%, 20 mi), Brookwood (5%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Vance walkable?
Vance is near the bottom of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 2.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Vance 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 Vance, from the people who make the trip.
More of Vance
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.