Work & commute · Helen

Work & commute in Helen, GA

Most working residents leave Helen for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are Gainesville (4%), Atlanta (4%) and Clarkesville (2%). Half commute less than 29 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

39 of 231 working residents

Typical commute

29 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 192 Helen residents head out of town to work, 39 work right here, and 1,149 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Helen.

192live here, work elsewhere

39live and work here

1,149work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Helen goes to work

Helen (in town)right here

17%39

Gainesville29.2 mi away

4%10

Atlanta76.2 mi away

4%9

Clarkesville13.2 mi away

2%5

Peachtree Corners58.5 mi away

2%5

Cleveland7.7 mi away

2%4

Alpharetta53.7 mi away

2%4

Sautee-Nacoochee2.8 mi away

2%4

Demorest14.4 mi away

1%3

Flowery Branch38.4 mi away

1%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

63%145

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

How far

How far Helen commutes

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

34%

13%

14%

39%

34%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

39%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Helen is a job hub

5.14jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Helen are

1,188 jobs are based in Helen. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Helen’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Helen

1,188 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)81%

$1,250 a month or less32%

$1,251–$3,333 a month47%

Over $3,333 a month21%

Jobs Helen residents hold

231 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+91%

Jobs based in Helen, 2013 → 2023: 621 → 1,188. 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.