Nicholson has higher unemployment (11.0%) than 96% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 85% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Nicholson C−; getting around on foot earns it D. Working from home is the commute for 5% of workers, where Georgia as a whole has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Nicholson apart on work
Nicholson is a place people come home to
There are 55 jobs based in Nicholson, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Nicholson has about 1,100 people in it, 41% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Nicholson and Athens trade workers both ways
Athens is the top workplace for Nicholson residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Nicholson come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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; with 860 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Nicholson’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Nicholson is better than 20% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Nicholson’s grade up (ahead of 53% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Nicholson could be anywhere from D to B.
Who commutes out of Nicholson, and who commutes in
On a workday 856 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 51 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Nicholson on a workday afternoon, 41% fewer than live here.
0.06 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.
21% of working residents work in Athens
Where Nicholson clocks in
8% 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.
Jobs in Nicholson: what the 55 are
55 jobs are based in Nicholson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Nicholson, 2013 → 2023: 98 → 55. 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 Nicholson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Nicholson: about 30 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Nicholson workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 982 commuters (the 5% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Nicholson
About 18% 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.
Few in Nicholson walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Nicholson is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Nicholson 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 1,033 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). 0.4% of Nicholson households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Nicholson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Nicholson is 3,806th among 5,234 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,600
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Berkeley Lake GA | 2,034 | $166K | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 114 | Fairplay GA | 1,881 | $120K | 1.6% | 1.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 184 | Isle of Hope GA | 2,053 | $105K | 1.4% | 1.3% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,804 | Cape Vincent NY | 2,439 | $61K | 9.3% | 3.9% | 14% | C− |
| 3,805 | New Brockton AL | 1,512 | $72K | 20.4% | 0.3% | 1% | C− |
| 3,806 | Nicholson GA | 1,941 | $52K | 11.5% | 11.0% | <1% | C− |
| 3,807 | Lanark IL | 1,452 | $59K | 12.7% | 2.3% | 8% | C− |
| 3,808 | Arkoma OK | 1,863 | $44K | 22.1% | 7.8% | 5% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,234 | 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 Nicholson, 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 Nicholson: questions
What is the median household income in Nicholson?
$52,147 (±$16,701) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Nicholson?
11.5%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Nicholson?
30 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Nicholson work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Athens (21%, 12 mi), Jefferson (8%, 10 mi), Commerce (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Nicholson walkable?
Nicholson is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.3 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Nicholson 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 Nicholson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Nicholson
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.