Work & commute · LaFayette

Work & commute in LaFayette, GA

About one in 4 of LaFayette’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Chattanooga (15%), Dalton (4%) and Rock Spring (3%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

28%

768 of 2,747 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 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 1,979 LaFayette residents head out of town to work, 768 work right here, and 5,843 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in LaFayette.

1,979live here, work elsewhere

768live and work here

5,843work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where LaFayette goes to work

LaFayette (in town)right here

28%768

Chattanooga, TN24.7 mi away

15%408

Dalton18 mi away

4%115

Rock Spring7.7 mi away

3%92

Fort Oglethorpe15.5 mi away

3%88

Ringgold16.8 mi away

3%69

Atlanta81.7 mi away

2%52

Calhoun24.5 mi away

1%37

Summerville16.4 mi away

1%32

Trenton17.3 mi away

1%28

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%1,058

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

How far

How far LaFayette commutes

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

36%

32%

14%

18%

36%Under 10 mi

32%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

LaFayette is a job hub

2.41jobs 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 LaFayette are

6,611 jobs are based in LaFayette. Here is what they are, next to the jobs LaFayette’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in LaFayette

6,611 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)57%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)30%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs LaFayette residents hold

2,747 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)35%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month48%

+52%

Jobs based in LaFayette, 2013 → 2023: 4,361 → 6,611. 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.