Work & commute · Madison

Work & commute in Madison, AL

Most working residents leave Madison for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Huntsville (56%), Decatur (4%) and Redstone Arsenal (2%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

3,286 of 24,740 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

19%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 21,454 Madison residents head out of town to work, 3,286 work right here, and 17,030 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Madison.

21,454live here, work elsewhere

3,286live and work here

17,030work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Madison goes to work

Huntsville5 mi away

56%13,871

Madison (in town)right here

13%3,286

Decatur16.1 mi away

4%905

Redstone Arsenal6.8 mi away

2%483

Athens11.8 mi away

2%480

Birmingham81.8 mi away

2%462

Hoover92.3 mi away

1%231

Montgomery165.7 mi away

1%220

Tuscaloosa111 mi away

1%139

Cullman37.1 mi away

1%131

Everywhere elseother towns and states

18%4,532

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

How far

How far Madison commutes

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

64%

20%

14%

64%Under 10 mi

20%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Madison is balanced between jobs and homes

0.82jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.82 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Madison are

20,316 jobs are based in Madison. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Madison’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Madison

20,316 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Madison residents hold

24,740 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month68%

+30%

Jobs based in Madison, 2013 → 2023: 15,681 → 20,316. 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.