Work & commute · Bessemer

Work & commute in Bessemer, AL

Most working residents leave Bessemer for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Birmingham (25%), Hoover (9%) and Homewood (5%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

1,823 of 9,975 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 8,152 Bessemer residents head out of town to work, 1,823 work right here, and 22,881 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bessemer.

8,152live here, work elsewhere

1,823live and work here

22,881work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bessemer goes to work

Birmingham14.8 mi away

25%2,534

Bessemer (in town)right here

18%1,823

Hoover9.4 mi away

9%921

Homewood11.2 mi away

5%512

McCalla5.6 mi away

2%237

Montgomery81.6 mi away

2%206

Tuscaloosa33.5 mi away

2%199

Vestavia Hills14.8 mi away

2%192

Pelham14.2 mi away

2%186

Huntsville93.2 mi away

2%171

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%2,994

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

How far

How far Bessemer commutes

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

38%

42%

14%

38%Under 10 mi

42%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bessemer is a job hub

2.48jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Bessemer are

24,704 jobs are based in Bessemer. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bessemer’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bessemer

24,704 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities46%

Services (health, schools, offices…)37%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Bessemer residents hold

9,975 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+67%

Jobs based in Bessemer, 2013 → 2023: 14,749 → 24,704. 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.