Work & commute · Arab

Work & commute in Arab, AL

Most working residents leave Arab for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are Huntsville (25%), Guntersville (5%) and Birmingham (4%). Half commute less than 26 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

619 of 3,607 working residents

Typical commute

26 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,988 Arab residents head out of town to work, 619 work right here, and 3,120 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Arab.

2,988live here, work elsewhere

619live and work here

3,120work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Arab goes to work

Huntsville27.1 mi away

25%885

Arab (in town)right here

17%619

Guntersville14.4 mi away

5%192

Birmingham58.2 mi away

4%130

Albertville17.3 mi away

3%124

Decatur32.4 mi away

3%92

Cullman22.2 mi away

2%89

Madison30.1 mi away

2%59

Gadsden35.7 mi away

1%49

Boaz21.9 mi away

1%47

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%1,321

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Arab commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

23%

34%

20%

23%Under 10 mi

23%10–24 mi

34%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Arab is balanced between jobs and homes

1.04jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Arab are

3,739 jobs are based in Arab. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Arab’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Arab

3,739 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities31%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month41%

Jobs Arab residents hold

3,607 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+12%

Jobs based in Arab, 2013 → 2023: 3,339 → 3,739. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.