Marsh-Warthen House · Photo: Harold Bush-Brown, Photographer Enlarged by L.D. Andrew · Public domainHouseholds in LaFayette earn less than those in 92% of U.S. towns
14.3% of residents are in poverty, next to 13.4% for Georgia as a whole. LaFayette grades C+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. 8% of workers work from home, next to 16% for Georgia as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
LaFayette at work: what stands out
LaFayette is where the jobs are
LaFayette has 6,611 jobs, 2.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 11,000 people are in town, 54% more than the 7,200 who live here. Day and night ↓
LaFayette makes and builds things
57% of the jobs based in LaFayette are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs LaFayette residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 35%. The jobs ↓
LaFayette draws workers from far and wide
The 6,611 jobs in LaFayette are filled from a wide area. LaFayette’s own residents hold 12% and the ten next-biggest home towns 15%; the other 73% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
A lot of LaFayette workers cross into Tennessee
20% of LaFayette workers work outside Georgia, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Chattanooga (15%) is one of the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
LaFayette has added jobs fast
Jobs based in LaFayette went from 4,361 in 2013 to 6,611 in 2023, +52%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in LaFayette
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, LaFayette is better than 40% of U.S. towns, #125 of 263 in Georgia. Unemployment holds LaFayette’s grade up (0.6%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($46,018, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, LaFayette could be anywhere from C to B−.
A workday in LaFayette: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,979 residents head out to work, 768 work right here, and 5,843 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in LaFayette on a workday afternoon, 54% more than live here.
2.4 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 2023, primary jobs.
57% of the jobs in LaFayette make or build things
6,611 jobs are based in LaFayette.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
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.
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 LaFayette’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip into LaFayette
Where LaFayette clocks in
15% 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.
About 27 minutes to work from LaFayette
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of LaFayette workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,924 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 many miles LaFayette commutes
About 19% 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.
Most trips from LaFayette start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, LaFayette is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #107 of 263 in Georgia. Both inputs place LaFayette 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 3,183 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). 9.8% of LaFayette households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of LaFayette’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,205 U.S. towns of 5,000 to 9,700, LaFayette comes 2,125th 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Tyrone GA | 8,091 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.3% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Grayson GA | 5,569 | $131K | 3.5% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | Senoia GA | 6,276 | $125K | 1.1% | 1.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,123 | Rancho Calaveras CA | 7,131 | $89K | 13.9% | 2.9% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,124 | Pembroke Park FL | 6,425 | $53K | 26.8% | 3.9% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,125 | LaFayette GA | 7,157 | $46K | 14.3% | 0.6% | 28% | C+ |
| 2,126 | Round Lake Park IL | 7,844 | $56K | 8.7% | 8.6% | <1% | C+ |
| 2,127 | Estherville IA | 5,807 | $54K | 12.6% | 1.1% | 34% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,205 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 LaFayette, 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 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 LaFayette: questions
What is the median household income in LaFayette?
$46,018 (±$10,032) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in LaFayette?
14.3%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from LaFayette?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in LaFayette work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chattanooga (15%, 25 mi), Dalton (4%, 18 mi), Rock Spring (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is LaFayette walkable?
LaFayette is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around LaFayette without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from LaFayette, from the people who make the trip.
More of LaFayette
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.