Covington Mills and Mill Village Historic District · Photo: Covington mills · CC BY-SA 4.0Covington has 2.7 jobs for every working resident: 14,960 people commute in to work
Measured by household income, Covington is behind 76% of U.S. towns. There are 15,944 jobs in Covington, against 5,995 working residents. Covington grades C− for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Covington
Covington draws workers from far and wide
The 15,944 jobs in Covington are filled from a wide area. Covington’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 9%; the other 85% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Covington is where the jobs are
Covington has 15,944 jobs, 2.7 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 27,000 people are in town, 57% more than the 17,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Covington workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 28 across Georgia. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Covington’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Covington is Atlanta, 35 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (598) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
How Covington earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Covington is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #172 of 263 in Georgia. Job access by car holds Covington’s grade up (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (20.4%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Covington could be anywhere from D to B.
Who travels to work in Covington, and from where
Where Covington clocks in
10% of workers
5% of workers
2% 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.
In and out of Covington on a workday
On a workday 5,011 residents head out to work and 984 work right here.
About 27,000 people are in Covington on a workday afternoon, 57% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
From Covington, about 37 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Covington workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,447 commuters (the 16% 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.
Covington’s commute, mile by mile
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.
In Covington, 28% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Covington, 2013 → 2023: 13,041 → 15,944. 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 Covington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
For most of Covington, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Covington is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns, #149 of 263 in Georgia. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.1% across Georgia.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,499 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). 7.0% of Covington households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Covington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Covington places 1,791st of 2,103 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 12,000 to 24,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 163 | Holly Springs GA | 20,261 | $114K | 3.9% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 274 | Vinings GA | 14,390 | $95K | 6.2% | 2.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 345 | Flowery Branch GA | 13,110 | $104K | 6.1% | 2.4% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,789 | Warrensville Heights OH | 13,353 | $50K | 21.4% | 8.3% | 4% | C− |
| 1,790 | Ada OK | 16,660 | $54K | 16.1% | 4.3% | 44% | C− |
| 1,791 | Covington GA | 17,477 | $59K | 20.4% | 7.3% | 16% | C− |
| 1,792 | Weatherford OK | 12,005 | $55K | 20.3% | 6.2% | 42% | C− |
| 1,793 | Guthrie OK | 12,257 | $53K | 19.4% | 5.6% | 23% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,103 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Covington, the top three, the last and three more from Georgia.
Work in the towns next to Covington
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Covington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covington | – | C− | B− | 37 min | $58,810 |
| Oxford | under 1% | C+ | A− | 23 min | $56,563 |
| Porterdale | under 1% | C− | C | 27 min | $49,773 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Covington’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 Covington: questions
What is the median household income in Covington?
$58,810 (±$14,608) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Covington?
20.4%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Covington?
37 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Covington work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Atlanta (10%, 35 mi), Conyers (5%, 9 mi), Sandy Springs (2%, 38 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Covington walkable?
Covington is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Covington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Covington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Covington
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.