Chieftains · Photo: Culbyen:User:Cculber007 · Public domainHouseholds in Rome earn less than those in 82% of U.S. towns
20.6% of residents live below the poverty line, where Georgia as a whole has 13.4%. Jobs and income earn Rome C−; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in three work in Rome itself; outside it, Calhoun draws the most (5%, 22 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Rome apart
Rome draws workers from far and wide
The 26,345 jobs in Rome are filled from a wide area. Rome’s own residents hold 19% and the ten next-biggest home towns 9%; the other 72% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Rome is where the jobs are
Rome has 26,345 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Rome are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 28 across Georgia. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Georgia worker. 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.
Inside Rome’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rome is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #188 of 263 in Georgia. Job access by car holds Rome’s grade up (ahead of 54% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rome could be anywhere from D to C.
Where Rome’s workers come from
Where Rome clocks in
3% 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.
Rome by day and by night
On a workday 10,542 residents head out to work, 4,993 work right here, and 21,352 people come in from elsewhere.
About 50,000 people are in Rome on a workday afternoon, 28% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
The daily trip from Rome: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rome workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,224 commuters (the 9% 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.
What work there is in Rome: 26,345 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rome, 2013 → 2023: 24,564 → 26,345. 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 Rome’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Rome to work
About 22% 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.
In Rome, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rome is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #72 of 263 in Georgia. Both inputs place Rome 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 15,610 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). 12.8% of Rome households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Rome’s commuters take a bus or train.
Rome and other U.S. towns of 27,000 to 53,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Dunwoody GA | 51,792 | $122K | 6.1% | 1.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Milton GA | 41,266 | $171K | 4.3% | 2.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 229 | Woodstock GA | 39,895 | $103K | 6.6% | 2.7% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,052 | Richmond KY | 40,663 | $51K | 19.5% | 6.7% | 30% | C− |
| 1,053 | Marrero LA | 32,540 | $41K | 23.0% | 8.2% | 7% | C− |
| 1,054 | Rome GA | 38,934 | $54K | 20.6% | 5.9% | 32% | C− |
| 1,055 | Galesburg IL | 28,581 | $48K | 19.1% | 5.0% | 40% | C− |
| 1,056 | Frankfort KY | 28,657 | $53K | 19.1% | 7.8% | 34% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,135 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Rome, the top three, the last and three more from Georgia.
Next door to Rome
The biggest share goes to Lindale (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rome workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rome | – | C− | B+ | 22 min | $54,435 |
| Lindale | 3% | C | C+ | 20 min | $43,561 |
| Berry College | under 1% | B | A− | 8 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Rome’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 Rome: questions
What is the median household income in Rome?
$54,435 (±$3,595) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rome?
20.6%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rome?
22 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rome work?
32% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Calhoun (5%, 22 mi), Lindale (3%, 5 mi), Atlanta (3%, 56 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rome walkable?
Rome is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rome without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rome, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rome
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.