Photo: csmith/dbb1 · CC BY-SA 3.0There are 3.2 jobs in Madison for every working resident, and 5,675 people commute in
About one in four stay in Madison for work; outside it, Athens is the main destination (7%, 26 miles). 6,242 jobs are based in Madison; 1,963 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Madison B−; getting around on foot earns it B.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Madison apart
Madison has far more jobs than workers
Madison has 6,242 jobs, 3.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 9,500 people are in town, 83% more than the 5,200 who live here. Day and night ↓
Madison draws workers from far and wide
The 6,242 jobs in Madison are filled from a wide area. Madison’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 12%; the other 79% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Madison are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 28 across Georgia. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Georgia worker. Time on the road ↓
Madison has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Madison went from 3,929 in 2013 to 6,242 in 2023, +59%. 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 Madison’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Madison is better than 47% of U.S. towns, #109 of 263 in Georgia. Unemployment holds Madison’s grade up (1.9%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($61,510, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Madison could be anywhere from C− to A−.
In and out of Madison on a workday
On a workday 1,396 residents head out to work and 567 work right here.
About 9,500 people are in Madison on a workday afternoon, 83% more than live here.
3.2 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.
The towns that send workers to Madison
Where Madison clocks in
3% 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.
From Madison, about 18 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Madison workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,952 commuters (the 9% 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.
What Madison’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Madison, 2013 → 2023: 3,929 → 6,242. 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 Madison’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Madison commutes
About 24% 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 Madison start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Madison is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns, #113 of 263 in Georgia. Both inputs place Madison 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 2,155 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). 1.6% of Madison households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Madison’s commuters take a bus or train.
Madison is 2,136th of 3,696 U.S. towns of 3,600 to 7,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 78 | Grayson GA | 5,569 | $131K | 3.5% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 166 | Senoia GA | 6,276 | $125K | 1.1% | 1.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 414 | Temple GA | 6,564 | $91K | 2.6% | 1.0% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,134 | Ligonier IN | 4,710 | $59K | 6.6% | 4.8% | 15% | B− |
| 2,135 | Shippensburg Township PA | 4,343 | $53K | 27.0% | 10.6% | 4% | B− |
| 2,136 | Madison GA | 5,179 | $62K | 12.6% | 1.9% | 29% | B− |
| 2,137 | Lyndon VT | 5,628 | $69K | 11.0% | 1.0% | 25% | B− |
| 2,138 | Williston Highlands FL | 3,666 | $80K | 8.3% | 3.5% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,696 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Madison, 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 Madison: questions
What is the median household income in Madison?
$61,510 (±$15,059) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Madison?
12.6%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Madison?
18 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Madison work?
29% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Athens (7%, 26 mi), Atlanta (3%, 56 mi), Covington (2%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Madison walkable?
Madison is more walkable than 59% 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 Madison without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Madison, from the people who make the trip.
More of Madison
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.