Work & commute · Atlanta

Work & commute in Atlanta, GA

43% of Atlanta’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Sandy Springs (6%), College Park (3%) and Alpharetta (2%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

43%

93,762 of 218,042 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

30%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 124,280 Atlanta residents head out of town to work, 93,762 work right here, and 419,847 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Atlanta.

124,280live here, work elsewhere

93,762live and work here

419,847work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Atlanta goes to work

Atlanta (in town)right here

43%93,762

Sandy Springs12.1 mi away

6%12,038

College Park8.7 mi away

3%6,384

Alpharetta23 mi away

2%4,485

South Fulton12.7 mi away

2%4,057

Dunwoody13.9 mi away

2%4,024

Brookhaven8.3 mi away

2%3,666

Marietta14.9 mi away

1%3,088

East Point7 mi away

1%2,925

Vinings7.3 mi away

1%2,538

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%81,075

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

How far

How far Atlanta commutes

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

60%

29%

60%Under 10 mi

29%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Atlanta is a job hub

2.36jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Atlanta are

513,609 jobs are based in Atlanta. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Atlanta’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Atlanta

513,609 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)86%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month72%

Jobs Atlanta residents hold

218,042 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month67%

+21%

Jobs based in Atlanta, 2013 → 2023: 424,284 → 513,609. 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.