Thomas P. Arnold House · Photo: Gabrielle Micale · CC BY-SA 3.0At 1.2%, unemployment in Palmetto is lower than in 93% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 27 minutes each way (Georgia 28, U.S. 26). The two grades for Palmetto are A− for jobs and income and B for walkability. Only 2% work in Palmetto; the top destination outside it is Atlanta (14%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Palmetto, in brief
The quickest commute around
Palmetto’s 27-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 33 to 37 minutes. Next door ↓
Palmetto has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Palmetto went from 682 in 2013 to 1,096 in 2023, +61%. 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Palmetto
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Palmetto is better than 82% of U.S. towns, #29 of 263 in Georgia. Unemployment is its strongest input; the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (9.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Palmetto could be anywhere from B− to A+.
What work there is in Palmetto: 1,096 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Palmetto, 2013 → 2023: 682 → 1,096. 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 Palmetto’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Palmetto by day and by night
On a workday 2,304 residents head out to work, 48 work right here, and 1,048 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,000 people are in Palmetto on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.47 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.
Where the trip to work from Palmetto ends
Where Palmetto clocks in
14% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
Commuting from Palmetto: about 27 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Palmetto workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,145 commuters (the 13% 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.
Where in the region Palmetto works
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 commute in Palmetto is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Palmetto is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns, #123 of 263 in Georgia. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% of 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 2,456 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 78% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 10.6% of Palmetto households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Palmetto’s commuters take a bus or train.
Palmetto next to U.S. towns of 3,700 to 7,200: 730th of 3,651 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 77 | Grayson GA | 5,569 | $131K | 3.5% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 169 | Senoia GA | 6,276 | $125K | 1.1% | 1.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 415 | Temple GA | 6,564 | $91K | 2.6% | 1.0% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 728 | Brecknock Township PA | 4,670 | $129K | 6.3% | 4.5% | 3% | A− |
| 729 | Naples Park FL | 5,122 | $80K | 6.2% | 1.9% | 6% | A− |
| 730 | Palmetto GA | 5,298 | $81K | 9.4% | 1.2% | 2% | A− |
| 731 | Hocking Township OH | 5,087 | $87K | 5.9% | 1.2% | 2% | A− |
| 732 | LaGrange Township OH | 6,953 | $91K | 4.2% | 3.3% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,651 | 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 Palmetto, the top three, the last and three more from Georgia.
Around Palmetto: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to South Fulton (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Palmetto workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmetto | – | A− | B | 27 min | $80,982 |
| Chattahoochee Hills | under 3% | A | B | 37 min | $111,792 |
| South Fulton | 4% | B | B+ | 33 min | $82,324 |
| Fairburn | 3% | B+ | B+ | 33 min | $91,897 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Palmetto’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 Palmetto: questions
What is the median household income in Palmetto?
$80,982 (±$19,588) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Palmetto?
9.4%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Palmetto?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Palmetto work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Atlanta (14%, 21 mi), College Park (4%, 14 mi), South Fulton (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Palmetto walkable?
Palmetto is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 10.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Palmetto without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Palmetto, from the people who make the trip.
More of Palmetto
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.