Household incomes in Riverdale trail those of 68% of U.S. towns
Riverdale grades B− for jobs and income and A for walkability. 12.4% of residents are in poverty (Georgia 13.4%). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 22.2 in Atlanta.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Riverdale, in brief
Riverdale trades workers with the towns around it
Riverdale has about as many jobs (5,219) as working residents (5,908), but they are mostly different people: 5,792 residents leave for work each day while 5,103 people come in. Only 2% of the jobs in Riverdale are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Riverdale draws workers from far and wide
The 5,219 jobs in Riverdale are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 19%; the other 79% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
35% of the jobs based in Riverdale are held by workers 29 or younger, against 23% of Riverdale’s own working residents. 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.
The four measures behind Riverdale’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Riverdale is better than 51% of U.S. towns, #99 of 263 in Georgia. Job access by car holds Riverdale’s grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($63,455, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Riverdale could be anywhere from C to A−.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 5,792 residents head out to work, 116 work right here, and 5,103 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.88 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
19% of working residents work in Atlanta
Where Riverdale clocks in
19% of workers
7% of workers
3% 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.
Inside Riverdale’s 5,219 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Riverdale, 2013 → 2023: 5,089 → 5,219. 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 Riverdale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 28 minutes from Riverdale
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Riverdale workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,477 commuters (the 12% 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.
Riverdale’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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Riverdale
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Riverdale is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #13 of 263 in Georgia. Both inputs place Riverdale 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 7,356 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 74% 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 6.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 13.3% of Riverdale households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Riverdale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Riverdale is 1,466th of 2,362 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 20,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 314 | Vinings GA | 14,390 | $95K | 6.2% | 2.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 390 | Flowery Branch GA | 13,110 | $104K | 6.1% | 2.4% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 430 | North Druid Hills GA | 17,997 | $103K | 11.1% | 1.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,464 | Cambridge MN | 11,090 | $69K | 10.5% | 3.4% | 24% | B− |
| 1,465 | Aberdeen NC | 10,066 | $75K | 10.5% | 3.7% | 10% | B− |
| 1,466 | Riverdale GA | 14,637 | $63K | 12.4% | 5.0% | 2% | B− |
| 1,467 | East Wenatchee WA | 14,414 | $78K | 8.0% | 4.6% | 11% | B− |
| 1,468 | Country Club Hills IL | 16,215 | $75K | 10.1% | 9.2% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,362 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Riverdale, 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 Riverdale: questions
What is the median household income in Riverdale?
$63,455 (±$18,941) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Riverdale?
12.4%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Riverdale?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Riverdale work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Atlanta (19%, 14 mi), College Park (7%, 6 mi), South Fulton (3%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Riverdale walkable?
Riverdale is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.0 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Riverdale without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Riverdale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Riverdale
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.