Photo: Www78 · CC BY-SA 3.0Jonesboro has higher unemployment (10.8%) than 96% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 22.2 in Atlanta. Jobs and income earn Jonesboro C−; getting around on foot earns it A−. Measured by household income, Jonesboro is behind 87% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Jonesboro, in brief
Jonesboro fills up on a workday
Jonesboro has 8,828 jobs, 4.8 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 13,000 people are in town, more than double the 6,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Jonesboro draws workers from far and wide
The 8,828 jobs in Jonesboro are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 20%; the other 79% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Jonesboro has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Jonesboro went from 5,426 in 2014 to 8,828 in 2024, +63%. The jobs ↓
Jonesboro workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 28 across Georgia. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Nearly all the work in Jonesboro is services
87% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 6% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Jonesboro’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Jonesboro is better than 19% of U.S. towns, #191 of 263 in Georgia. Job access by car holds Jonesboro’s grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (35.3%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Jonesboro could be anywhere from D to C+.
How a workday changes Jonesboro
On a workday 1,763 residents head out to work, 96 work right here, and 8,732 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Jonesboro on a workday afternoon, 115% more than live here.
4.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting in to Jonesboro: where workers come from
Where Jonesboro clocks in
16% of workers
4% 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.
Most jobs in Jonesboro are in services
8,828 jobs are based in Jonesboro.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jonesboro, 2014 → 2024: 5,426 → 8,828. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Jonesboro’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Jonesboro: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jonesboro workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,784 commuters (the 8% 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.
How far it is to work from Jonesboro
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Jonesboro
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Jonesboro is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #38 of 263 in Georgia. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above 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 1,948 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 73% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 23% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 16.4% of Jonesboro households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Jonesboro’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,444 U.S. towns of 4,200 to 8,200, Jonesboro comes 2,913th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Tyrone GA | 8,091 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.3% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 66 | Grayson GA | 5,569 | $131K | 3.5% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | Senoia GA | 6,276 | $125K | 1.1% | 1.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,911 | Selma NC | 7,406 | $41K | 24.7% | 4.9% | 5% | C− |
| 2,912 | Broken Bow OK | 4,211 | $40K | 34.4% | 1.6% | 25% | C− |
| 2,913 | Jonesboro GA | 6,046 | $51K | 35.3% | 10.8% | 5% | C− |
| 2,914 | Duquesne PA | 5,019 | $44K | 22.9% | 9.1% | 5% | C− |
| 2,915 | Brewton AL | 5,113 | $51K | 14.2% | 4.3% | 32% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,444 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 3% | 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 Jonesboro, the top three, the last and three more from Georgia.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 Jonesboro: questions
What is the median household income in Jonesboro?
$50,843 (±$16,679) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jonesboro?
35.3%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jonesboro?
35 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jonesboro work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Atlanta (16%, 17 mi), College Park (4%, 10 mi), South Fulton (3%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Jonesboro walkable?
Jonesboro is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jonesboro without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. 23% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jonesboro, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jonesboro
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.