Photo: Carrie Qualters · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Roswell have higher incomes than those in 91% of U.S. towns
Roswell grades A for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Below the poverty line: 7.5% of residents; Georgia has 13.4%. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 22.2 in Atlanta.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Roswell: the figures worth knowing
Roswell trades workers with the towns around it
Roswell has about as many jobs (47,228) as working residents (42,012), but they are mostly different people: 37,485 residents leave for work each day while 42,701 people come in. Only 10% of the jobs in Roswell are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Roswell
32% of Roswell workers work from home, against 16% across Georgia. Time on the road ↓
Roswell draws workers from far and wide
The 47,228 jobs in Roswell are filled from a wide area. Roswell’s own residents hold 10% and the ten next-biggest home towns 20%; the other 70% come from many towns beyond those. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Roswell’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Roswell is better than 87% of U.S. towns, #17 of 263 in Georgia. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Roswell could be anywhere from A− to A.
The daily flow of workers through Roswell
On a workday 37,485 residents head out to work, 4,527 work right here, and 42,701 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 (1.12 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.
A commute of about 27 minutes in Roswell
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Roswell workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 33,167 commuters (the 32% 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.
17% of working residents work in Atlanta
Where Roswell clocks in
17% of workers
10% 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.
What the 47,228 jobs in Roswell are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Roswell, 2013 → 2023: 43,101 → 47,228. 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 Roswell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Roswell
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 Roswell, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Roswell is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #54 of 263 in Georgia. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above 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 48,918 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 28% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 5% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 66% 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). 3.5% of Roswell households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Roswell’s commuters take a bus or train.
Roswell is 83rd of 495 U.S. towns of 64,000 to 124,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Johns Creek GA | 80,401 | $160K | 4.2% | 4.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Kirkland WA | 97,410 | $150K | 6.1% | 4.6% | 11% | A |
| 82 | Novi MI | 67,319 | $111K | 5.4% | 4.3% | 11% | A |
| 83 | Roswell GA | 91,505 | $129K | 7.5% | 3.8% | 11% | A |
| 84 | Redmond WA | 82,506 | $163K | 5.6% | 4.9% | 32% | A |
| 85 | Alpharetta GA | 66,921 | $148K | 5.6% | 4.9% | 18% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 119 | Sandy Springs GA | 105,013 | $104K | 8.5% | 4.0% | 15% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 287 | South Fulton GA | 112,820 | $82K | 9.1% | 7.2% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 495 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Roswell, the top three, the last and three more from Georgia.
Bordering towns draw 23% of Roswell’s workers
The biggest share goes to Alpharetta (11%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Roswell workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roswell | – | A | A− | 27 min | $128,654 |
| Alpharetta | 11% | A | A− | 26 min | $147,612 |
| Milton | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 28 min | $171,295 |
| Sandy Springs | 10% | A− | A | 26 min | $104,340 |
| Johns Creek | 2% | A | B | 30 min | $160,093 |
| Mountain Park | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Mountain Park: the same community as the mountain park cdp of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Roswell’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 Roswell: questions
What is the median household income in Roswell?
$128,654 (±$9,864) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Roswell?
7.5%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Roswell?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Roswell work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Atlanta (17%, 20 mi), Alpharetta (11%, 5 mi), Sandy Springs (10%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Roswell walkable?
Roswell is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Roswell without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 5% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Roswell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Roswell
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.