Photo: PghPhxNfk · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Columbus (6.3%) is higher than in 77% of U.S. towns
A typical one-way commute lasts 21 minutes (Georgia 28, U.S. 26). For jobs and income Columbus is better than 25% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (B). More than half work in Columbus itself; outside it, Atlanta draws the most (3%, 90 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Columbus
Most jobs in Columbus go to people who live here
Of the 79,038 jobs based in Columbus, 50% are held by Columbus residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Columbus are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 28 across Georgia. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Georgia worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Columbus
Job access by car holds Columbus’ grade up (ahead of 67% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (19.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Columbus could be anywhere from C− to C.
How a workday changes Columbus
On a workday 27,798 residents head out to work, 39,189 work right here, and 39,849 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.18 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
A commute of about 21 minutes in Columbus
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Columbus workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 77,859 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Georgia: 84% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The commute from Columbus, by distance
About 30% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Where Columbus goes to work
Where Columbus clocks in
3% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The 79,038 jobs based in Columbus
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Columbus, 2013 → 2023: 79,012 → 79,038. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Few in Columbus walk, bike or ride to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 88,531 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.9% of Columbus households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Columbus’ commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Among U.S. towns of 142,000 to 273,000, Columbus ranks 117th of 132 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| 3 | Olathe KS | 150,025 | $114K | 5.6% | 2.7% | 26% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 115 | Birmingham AL | 195,893 | $46K | 24.7% | 5.8% | 44% | C |
| 116 | Montgomery AL | 195,300 | $57K | 21.5% | 6.4% | 64% | C |
| 117 | Columbus GA | 202,171 | $58K | 19.0% | 6.3% | 59% | C |
| 118 | Savannah GA | 149,440 | $57K | 19.7% | 7.2% | 51% | C |
| 119 | Columbia SC | 147,035 | $56K | 24.0% | 7.5% | 40% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | Augusta GA | 206,559 | $56K | 20.0% | 8.5% | 48% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 132 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | D |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Columbus, the top three, the last and three more from Georgia.
Around Columbus: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Phenix City. Darker towns draw more of Columbus’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Columbus: questions
What is the median household income in Columbus?
$58,073 (±$1,832) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Columbus?
19.0%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Columbus?
21 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Columbus work?
59% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Atlanta (3%, 90 mi), Phenix City (3%, 10 mi), Cusseta (1%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Columbus walkable?
Columbus is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Columbus without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Columbus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Columbus
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.