Photo: Jim Bowen · CC BY-SA 2.0Unemployment in Albany (10.9%) is higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 22 minutes each way, next to 27 for Texas and 26 for the U.S. For jobs and income Albany is better than 17% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (C). About one in seven work in Albany; the top destination outside it is Abilene (19%, 32 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Albany apart on work
Albany’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Albany is Abilene, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 19% of working residents (144) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
39% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Albany than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Albany fell from 1,022 in 2013 to 568 in 2023, −44%. 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; with 741 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Albany’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
The poverty rate holds Albany’s grade up (10.5%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Albany could be anywhere from D to B.
Albany’s commute, mile by mile
About 39% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 43% of the jobs in Albany
568 jobs are based in Albany.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Albany, 2013 → 2023: 1,022 → 568. 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 Albany’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Albany on a workday
On a workday 630 residents head out to work, 111 work right here, and 457 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 (0.77 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.
Where Albany’s working residents head each day
Where Albany clocks in
19% of workers
3% 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.
Albany’s commute takes about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Albany workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 817 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Texas: 83% 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.
Few in Albany walk, bike or ride to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.0% across Texas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 905 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). 3.8% of Albany households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Albany’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Albany is 4,470th among 5,921 U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,600
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Seis Lagos TX | 1,391 | $249K | 1.2% | 4.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Rollingwood TX | 1,466 | $240K | 4.6% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| 25 | Oak Leaf TX | 1,684 | $132K | 2.8% | 5.5% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,468 | Milan MO | 1,742 | $56K | 10.7% | 5.8% | 59% | C− |
| 4,469 | Bridgeport OH | 1,523 | $54K | 16.3% | 5.8% | 3% | C− |
| 4,470 | Albany TX | 1,905 | $68K | 10.5% | 10.9% | 15% | C− |
| 4,471 | Newcastle Township IN | 1,368 | $49K | 11.7% | 5.8% | 1% | C− |
| 4,472 | Center Township KS | 1,325 | $65K | 11.3% | 0.1% | 42% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,921 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Albany, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
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 Albany: questions
What is the median household income in Albany?
$68,000 (±$13,671) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Albany?
10.5%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Albany?
22 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Albany work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Abilene (19%, 32 mi), Breckenridge (3%, 22 mi), Fort Worth (3%, 113 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Albany walkable?
Albany is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Albany 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 Albany, from the people who make the trip.
More of Albany
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.