Work & commute · Fort Payne

Work & commute in Fort Payne, AL

51% of Fort Payne’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Rainsville (5%), Huntsville (4%) and Chattanooga (3%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

51%

2,880 of 5,605 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 2,725 Fort Payne residents head out of town to work, 2,880 work right here, and 9,461 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Fort Payne.

2,725live here, work elsewhere

2,880live and work here

9,461work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Fort Payne goes to work

Fort Payne (in town)right here

51%2,880

Rainsville8.8 mi away

5%277

Huntsville58.5 mi away

4%200

Chattanooga, TN48.9 mi away

3%143

Gadsden36.3 mi away

2%110

Scottsboro24.2 mi away

2%98

Birmingham90.3 mi away

1%79

Albertville32.6 mi away

1%61

Montgomery149.5 mi away

1%59

Centre21 mi away

1%51

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%1,647

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

How far

How far Fort Payne commutes

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

59%

11%

21%

59%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Fort Payne is a job hub

2.20jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Fort Payne are

12,341 jobs are based in Fort Payne. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fort Payne’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Fort Payne

12,341 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)32%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)39%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Fort Payne residents hold

5,605 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)45%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+25%

Jobs based in Fort Payne, 2013 → 2023: 9,859 → 12,341. 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.