Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Pelham have lower incomes than those in 96% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Pelham are D− for jobs and income and C for walkability. Poverty touches 22.9% of residents, next to 13.4% for Georgia as a whole. Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, against 16% across Georgia.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Pelham: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Pelham are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 28 across Georgia. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Georgia worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Pelham than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Pelham fell from 1,494 in 2013 to 875 in 2023, −41%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Fewer than half of Pelham workers earn over $40,000 a year
39% of Pelham’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 18% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Few Pelham workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 16% across Georgia. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
Pelham’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pelham is better than 3% of U.S. towns, #251 of 263 in Georgia. Job access by car holds Pelham’s grade up (ahead of 20% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($39,023, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pelham could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Commuting from Pelham: about 16 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pelham workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 945 commuters (the 4% 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.
Jobs in Pelham: what the 875 are
875 jobs are based in Pelham.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pelham, 2013 → 2023: 1,494 → 875. 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 Pelham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Pelham
On a workday 1,192 residents head out to work, 147 work right here, and 728 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in Pelham on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.65 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.
16% of working residents work in Camilla
Where Pelham clocks in
16% of workers
9% of workers
5% 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.
How far it is to work from Pelham
About 27% 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 of Pelham commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pelham is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns, #220 of 263 in Georgia. Both inputs place Pelham 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 981 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). 6.4% of Pelham households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pelham’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,500, and where Pelham sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 100 | Avondale Estates GA | 3,543 | $124K | 6.3% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 263 | Ball Ground GA | 3,470 | $118K | 1.8% | 1.8% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 340 | Chattahoochee Hills GA | 3,524 | $112K | 1.1% | 3.8% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,157 | Claxton GA | 2,560 | $33K | 35.7% | 3.0% | 12% | D− |
| 4,158 | Lakeland GA | 3,062 | $31K | 44.1% | 0.8% | 15% | D− |
| 4,159 | Pelham GA | 3,359 | $39K | 22.9% | 10.5% | 11% | D− |
| 4,160 | Butler MO | 4,317 | $42K | 24.7% | 10.1% | 30% | D− |
| 4,161 | Mullins SC | 3,838 | $35K | 38.3% | 10.1% | 11% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,269 | 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 Pelham, 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 Pelham: questions
What is the median household income in Pelham?
$39,023 (±$10,521) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pelham?
22.9%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pelham?
16 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pelham work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Camilla (16%, 8 mi), Thomasville (9%, 22 mi), Albany (5%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pelham walkable?
Pelham is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pelham without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pelham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pelham
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.