Work & commute · Decatur

Work & commute in Decatur, GA

Most working residents leave Decatur for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are Atlanta (43%), Sandy Springs (5%) and Brookhaven (2%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

988 of 10,811 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

39%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 9,823 Decatur residents head out of town to work, 988 work right here, and 9,638 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Decatur.

9,823live here, work elsewhere

988live and work here

9,638work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Decatur goes to work

Atlanta7.3 mi away

43%4,678

Decatur (in town)right here

9%988

Sandy Springs11.9 mi away

5%491

Brookhaven6.7 mi away

2%178

North Decatur2.5 mi away

2%176

Alpharetta20.8 mi away

2%169

College Park13.2 mi away

1%155

North Druid Hills3.9 mi away

1%135

Chamblee7.6 mi away

1%130

Tucker7.4 mi away

1%125

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%3,586

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

How far

How far Decatur commutes

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

65%

26%

65%Under 10 mi

26%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Decatur is balanced between jobs and homes

0.98jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.98 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Decatur are

10,626 jobs are based in Decatur. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Decatur’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Decatur

10,626 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)91%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Decatur residents hold

10,811 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month75%

−26%

Jobs based in Decatur, 2013 → 2023: 14,429 → 10,626. 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.