Cagle House · Photo: MrGeode13 · CC BY-SA 3.0Nelson has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
71 jobs are based in Nelson, against 527 working residents. For jobs and income Nelson is better than 65% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns (D). Hardly any work in Nelson; the top destination outside it is Canton (9%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Nelson
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Nelson
Household income is its strongest input ($89,375, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 51% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
Unemployment (6.9%) is left out: Nelson’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Nelson could be anywhere from C+ to A.
The workday shuffle in and out of Nelson
On a workday 527 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 71 people come in from elsewhere.
About 720 people are in Nelson on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Nelson ends
Where Nelson clocks in
9% of workers
7% 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.
Nelson works in goods: 68% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Nelson, 2013 → 2023: 89 → 71. 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 Nelson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Nelson: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Nelson workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 528 commuters (the 10% 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.
Nelson’s commute, mile by mile
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.
For most of Nelson, work means a drive
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below 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 588 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). 1.4% of Nelson households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Nelson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Nelson next to U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600: 885th of 4,312 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 130 | Winterville GA | 1,203 | $111K | 3.2% | 0.9% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 256 | Cataula GA | 1,522 | $124K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 258 | Clermont GA | 1,165 | $136K | 4.7% | 3.1% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 883 | Franklin WI | 1,249 | $80K | 7.7% | 1.8% | 2% | B+ |
| 884 | Hustisford WI | 1,350 | $94K | 7.9% | 14.2% | 2% | B+ |
| 885 | Nelson GA | 1,172 | $89K | 7.9% | 6.9% | 0% | B+ |
| 886 | Elverson PA | 1,396 | $78K | 9.4% | 2.1% | 2% | B+ |
| 887 | Palestine Township IL | 1,115 | $77K | 5.6% | 8.1% | <1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Nelson, 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 Nelson: questions
What is the median household income in Nelson?
$89,375 (±$25,511) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Nelson?
7.9%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Nelson?
30 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Nelson work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Canton (9%, 11 mi), Jasper (7%, 7 mi), Atlanta (7%, 42 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Nelson walkable?
Nelson is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Nelson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Nelson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Nelson
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.