Photo: csmith/dbb1 · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Locust Grove (9.9%) is higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 35 minutes each way, next to 28 for Georgia and 26 for the U.S. For jobs and income Locust Grove is better than 29% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (C+). Only 5% work in Locust Grove; the top destination outside it is Atlanta (15%, 35 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Locust Grove: the gist
Locust Grove trades workers with the towns around it
Locust Grove has about as many jobs (4,325) as working residents (4,354), but they are mostly different people: 4,150 residents leave for work each day while 4,121 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Locust Grove are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Locust Grove has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Locust Grove went from 2,523 in 2013 to 4,325 in 2023, +71%. The jobs ↓
Locust Grove’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Locust Grove is Atlanta, 35 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (639) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Locust Grove
58% of Locust Grove residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 33% of the jobs based in Locust Grove pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
48% of the jobs in Locust Grove are in trade, transport and utilities, against 28% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
Inside Locust Grove’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Locust Grove’s grade up (ahead of 61% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Locust Grove could be anywhere from C− to B−.
How a workday changes Locust Grove
On a workday 4,150 residents head out to work, 204 work right here, and 4,121 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 (0.99 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.
What work there is in Locust Grove: 4,325 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Locust Grove, 2013 → 2023: 2,523 → 4,325. 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 Locust Grove’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Locust Grove commutes less than 29 miles
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.
The places Locust Grove commutes to
Where Locust Grove clocks in
15% of workers
6% 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.
About 35 minutes each way, longer than most of Georgia
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Locust Grove workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,399 commuters (the 14% 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.
Locust Grove is a driving town
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,104 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). 3.2% of Locust Grove households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Locust Grove’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Locust Grove is 1,890th of 2,362 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 20,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 314 | Vinings GA | 14,390 | $95K | 6.2% | 2.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 390 | Flowery Branch GA | 13,110 | $104K | 6.1% | 2.4% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 430 | North Druid Hills GA | 17,997 | $103K | 11.1% | 1.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,888 | Levelland TX | 12,513 | $58K | 15.5% | 4.6% | 37% | C |
| 1,889 | Martinsburg WV | 19,211 | $60K | 19.8% | 5.2% | 18% | C |
| 1,890 | Locust Grove GA | 14,610 | $75K | 15.9% | 9.9% | 5% | C |
| 1,891 | Somerset Township PA | 11,645 | $63K | 11.7% | 5.2% | 18% | C |
| 1,892 | Dumas TX | 14,862 | $64K | 20.2% | 3.4% | 29% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,362 | 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 Locust Grove, 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 Locust Grove: questions
What is the median household income in Locust Grove?
$75,083 (±$9,356) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Locust Grove?
15.9%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Locust Grove?
35 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Locust Grove work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Atlanta (15%, 35 mi), McDonough (6%, 8 mi), College Park (3%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Locust Grove walkable?
Locust Grove is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Locust Grove without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Locust Grove, from the people who make the trip.
More of Locust Grove
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.