Work & commute · Mobile

Work & commute in Mobile, AL

62% of Mobile’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Daphne (2%), Tillmans Corner (2%) and Saraland (2%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

62%

49,278 of 79,298 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 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 30,020 Mobile residents head out of town to work, 49,278 work right here, and 77,060 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Mobile.

30,020live here, work elsewhere

49,278live and work here

77,060work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Mobile goes to work

Mobile (in town)right here

62%49,278

Daphne14 mi away

2%1,795

Tillmans Corner8.6 mi away

2%1,350

Saraland12.8 mi away

2%1,318

Montgomery158.8 mi away

2%1,264

Fairhope17 mi away

1%1,138

Prichard7.4 mi away

1%1,138

Birmingham211.9 mi away

1%884

Pascagoula, MS34.1 mi away

1%827

Spanish Fort14.9 mi away

1%771

Everywhere elseother towns and states

25%19,535

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

How far

How far Mobile commutes

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

67%

15%

14%

67%Under 10 mi

15%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Mobile is a job hub

1.59jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Mobile are

126,338 jobs are based in Mobile. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Mobile’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Mobile

126,338 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Mobile residents hold

79,298 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+5%

Jobs based in Mobile, 2013 → 2023: 119,969 → 126,338. 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.