Photo: Lincolnh · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Decatur are higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
6.2% of residents are in poverty; Georgia has 13.4%. Decatur grades A for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. 38% of workers work from home; Georgia has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Decatur: the figures worth knowing
A lot of Decatur works from home
39% of Decatur workers work from home, against 16% across Georgia. Time on the road ↓
Decatur trades workers with the towns around it
Decatur has about as many jobs (10,626) as working residents (10,811), but they are mostly different people: 9,823 residents leave for work each day while 9,638 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Decatur are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
43% of Decatur works in Atlanta
4,678 working residents, 43%, have their main job in Atlanta, 7.3 miles away across the town line. That’s 5 times as many as work in Decatur itself. The commute map ↓
Decatur draws workers from far and wide
The 10,626 jobs in Decatur are filled from a wide area. Decatur’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 27%; the other 64% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Most Decatur residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 5% work more than 50 miles away. 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Decatur
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Decatur is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #14 of 263 in Georgia. Job access by car holds Decatur’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Decatur could be anywhere from A− to A+.
From Decatur, about 26 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Decatur workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,245 commuters (the 38% 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.
Who works in Decatur, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 9,823 residents head out to work, 988 work right here, and 9,638 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 (0.98 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.
43% of working residents work in Atlanta
Where Decatur clocks in
43% 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.
Where in the region Decatur works
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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
10,626 jobs are based in Decatur.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
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.
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 Decatur’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Decatur is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Decatur is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #1 of 263 in Georgia. Both inputs place Decatur near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 11,779 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 37% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 23.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 98% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.3% of Decatur households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 7% of Decatur’s commuters take a bus or train.
Decatur places 289th of 1,516 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 18,000 to 34,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 114 | Holly Springs GA | 20,261 | $114K | 3.9% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 287 | Springfield Township NJ | 18,342 | $156K | 5.7% | 4.8% | 5% | A |
| 288 | West Haven UT | 25,627 | $101K | 6.2% | 1.4% | 5% | A |
| 289 | Decatur GA | 25,276 | $139K | 6.2% | 4.3% | 9% | A |
| 290 | Penn Township PA | 20,755 | $113K | 5.2% | 3.0% | 9% | A |
| 291 | Midlothian VA | 19,120 | $110K | 3.2% | 4.0% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 369 | Braselton GA | 18,496 | $121K | 6.2% | 3.4% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 498 | Sugar Hill GA | 29,280 | $107K | 7.3% | 4.0% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,516 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Decatur, the top three, the last and three more from Georgia.
45% of Decatur works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Atlanta (43%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Decatur workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur | – | A | A+ | 26 min | $139,397 |
| North Decatur | 2% | B+ | A+ | 25 min | $110,871 |
| Belvedere Park | under 2% | B− | A | 30 min | $65,462 |
| Druid Hills | under 2% | A | A+ | 25 min | $130,139 |
| Atlanta | 43% | B− | A+ | 27 min | $85,652 |
| Scottdale | under 2% | B | A | 30 min | $85,610 |
| Avondale Estates | under 2% | A+ | A | 30 min | $123,795 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Decatur’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 Decatur: questions
What is the median household income in Decatur?
$139,397 (±$8,882) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Decatur?
6.2%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Decatur?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 38% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Decatur work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Atlanta (43%, 7 mi), Sandy Springs (5%, 12 mi), Brookhaven (2%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Decatur walkable?
Decatur is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.4 out of 20, and 17% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Decatur without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 37% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Decatur, from the people who make the trip.
More of Decatur
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.