Photo: Tim Farley · CC BY-SA 4.0Lithonia has higher unemployment (11.7%) than 97% of U.S. towns
Hardly any work in Lithonia; the top destination outside it is Atlanta (18%, 18 miles). Jobs and income earn Lithonia C; getting around on foot earns it A. 6% of workers work from home (Georgia 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Lithonia apart
Lithonia workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 42 minutes each way, against 28 across Georgia. Over a year that’s about 322 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Lithonia than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Lithonia fell from 519 in 2013 to 329 in 2023, −37%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
How Lithonia earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lithonia is better than 28% of U.S. towns, #162 of 263 in Georgia. Job access by car holds Lithonia’s grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lithonia could be anywhere from C− to B.
The trip to work from Lithonia: about 42 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lithonia workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,280 commuters (the 6% 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.
Jobs in Lithonia: what the 329 are
329 jobs are based in Lithonia.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lithonia, 2013 → 2023: 519 → 329. 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 Lithonia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lithonia by day and by night
On a workday 1,037 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 321 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Lithonia on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.31 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Commuting out of Lithonia: the destinations
Where Lithonia clocks in
18% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Lithonia
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.
Lithonia is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,364 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 66% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 28% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 10.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 94% 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). 27.3% of Lithonia households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 11% of Lithonia’s commuters take a bus or train.
3,488th of 5,083: where Lithonia ranks among U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Berkeley Lake GA | 2,034 | $166K | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 120 | Fairplay GA | 1,881 | $120K | 1.6% | 1.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 212 | Isle of Hope GA | 2,053 | $105K | 1.4% | 1.3% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,486 | East Taylor Township PA | 2,344 | $70K | 10.8% | 10.1% | 5% | C |
| 3,487 | Fannett Township PA | 2,498 | $66K | 18.8% | 2.5% | 7% | C |
| 3,488 | Lithonia GA | 2,608 | $62K | 19.5% | 11.7% | 1% | C |
| 3,489 | Prophetstown IL | 1,887 | $65K | 11.7% | 7.2% | 14% | C |
| 3,490 | Pocahontas IA | 1,803 | $67K | 8.7% | 4.1% | 37% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Lithonia, the top three, the last and three more from Georgia.
Work in the towns next to Lithonia
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lithonia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lithonia | – | C | A | 42 min | $61,713 |
| Stonecrest | 6% | C | A− | 36 min | $64,591 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Stonecrest. Darker towns draw more of Lithonia’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 Lithonia: questions
What is the median household income in Lithonia?
$61,713 (±$18,899) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lithonia?
19.5%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lithonia?
42 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lithonia work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Atlanta (18%, 18 mi), Stonecrest (6%, 3 mi), Sandy Springs (3%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lithonia walkable?
Lithonia is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.5 out of 20, and 14% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lithonia without a car?
11% of commuters take transit and 27% of households have no car. 28% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lithonia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lithonia
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.