Work & commute · Athens

Work & commute in Athens, AL

About one in 4 of Athens’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Huntsville (31%), Decatur (7%) and Madison (6%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

26%

2,687 of 10,449 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 7,762 Athens residents head out of town to work, 2,687 work right here, and 12,186 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Athens.

7,762live here, work elsewhere

2,687live and work here

12,186work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Athens goes to work

Huntsville16.7 mi away

31%3,228

Athens (in town)right here

26%2,687

Decatur14.7 mi away

7%774

Madison11.8 mi away

6%617

Birmingham87.2 mi away

2%204

Cullman42.3 mi away

1%115

Hoover97.6 mi away

1%108

Montgomery172.7 mi away

1%83

Redstone Arsenal18.6 mi away

1%66

Homewood91.8 mi away

0%52

Everywhere elseother towns and states

24%2,515

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

How far

How far Athens commutes

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

31%

48%

15%

31%Under 10 mi

48%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Athens is balanced between jobs and homes

1.42jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.42 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Athens are

14,873 jobs are based in Athens. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Athens’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Athens

14,873 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Athens residents hold

10,449 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+22%

Jobs based in Athens, 2013 → 2023: 12,190 → 14,873. 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.