Jobs and the daily commute in Birmingham
Hardly any stay in Birmingham for work; outside it, Kansas City is the main destination (39%, 6 miles). For 3% of workers, the job is at home, against 13% across Missouri. The trip to work takes 22 minutes on average, where Missouri has 24 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Birmingham
On a workday 102 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 61 people come in from elsewhere.
About 150 people are in Birmingham on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.60 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.
Where Birmingham’s working residents head each day
Where Birmingham clocks in
39% 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.
What work there is in Birmingham: 61 jobs
61 jobs are based in Birmingham.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Birmingham, 2013 → 2023: 32 → 61. 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 Birmingham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 22 minutes to work from Birmingham
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Birmingham workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 67 commuters (the 3% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 86% 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.
The commute from Birmingham, 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.
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 Birmingham: questions
What is the median household income in Birmingham?
$62,000 (±$16,227) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Birmingham?
18.0%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Birmingham?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Birmingham work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kansas City (39%, 6 mi), Liberty (5%, 5 mi), Kansas City (4%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Birmingham without a car?
0% 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 Birmingham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Birmingham
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.