Work & commute · Alma

Work & commute in Alma, AR

Most working residents leave Alma for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Fort Smith (35%), Van Buren (13%) and Little Rock (4%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15%

306 of 2,057 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 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 1,751 Alma residents head out of town to work, 306 work right here, and 1,871 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Alma.

1,751live here, work elsewhere

306live and work here

1,871work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Alma goes to work

Fort Smith13.3 mi away

35%721

Alma (in town)right here

15%306

Van Buren8.5 mi away

13%260

Little Rock117.4 mi away

4%72

Fayetteville40.1 mi away

3%56

Bentonville59.4 mi away

2%43

Springdale48.4 mi away

2%33

Rogers57.1 mi away

1%28

Mulberry7.8 mi away

1%19

Mountainburg11.2 mi away

1%18

Everywhere elseother towns and states

24%501

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

How far

How far Alma commutes

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

36%

39%

19%

36%Under 10 mi

39%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Alma is balanced between jobs and homes

1.06jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.06 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Alma are

2,177 jobs are based in Alma. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Alma’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Alma

2,177 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month45%

Over $3,333 a month34%

Jobs Alma residents hold

2,057 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+10%

Jobs based in Alma, 2013 → 2023: 1,985 → 2,177. 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.