Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Royston are lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
For 3% of workers, the job is at home (Georgia 16%). 22.2% of residents live below the poverty line; Georgia has 13.4%. Royston grades D for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Royston
Royston workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 28 across Georgia. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Royston workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 16% across Georgia. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
36% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
How Royston earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Royston is better than 9% of U.S. towns, #218 of 263 in Georgia. Job access by car holds Royston’s grade up (ahead of 42% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($34,435, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (5.3%) is left out: Royston’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Royston could be anywhere from D to C−.
Time on the road from Royston: about 36 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Royston workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 723 commuters (the 3% 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.
Half of Royston commutes less than 28 miles
About 36% 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.
How a workday changes Royston
On a workday 997 residents head out to work, 102 work right here, and 1,325 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,000 people are in Royston on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.30 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.
7% of working residents work in Athens
Where Royston clocks in
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.
In Royston, services account for most jobs
1,427 jobs are based in Royston.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Royston, 2013 → 2023: 1,290 → 1,427. 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 Royston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from Royston start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Royston is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns, #142 of 263 in Georgia. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.8% 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 748 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). 19.2% of Royston households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Royston’s commuters take a bus or train.
Royston is 4,290th of 4,797 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,600 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Berkeley Lake GA | 2,034 | $166K | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 82 | Avondale Estates GA | 3,543 | $124K | 6.3% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 201 | Isle of Hope GA | 2,053 | $105K | 1.4% | 1.3% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,288 | Munising Township MI | 2,759 | $62K | 15.9% | 7.0% | 13% | D |
| 4,289 | Bayou La Batre AL | 2,068 | $38K | 29.7% | 2.6% | 10% | D |
| 4,290 | Royston GA | 2,693 | $34K | 22.2% | 5.3% | 9% | D |
| 4,291 | Franklinton LA | 3,576 | $34K | 20.7% | 5.8% | 22% | D |
| 4,292 | Newkirk OK | 2,246 | $53K | 14.9% | 3.5% | 13% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,797 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Royston, the top three, the last and three more from Georgia.
Royston and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Franklin Springs (1%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Royston workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royston | – | D | B− | 36 min | $34,435 |
| Franklin Springs | 1% | B− | A | 22 min | $75,729 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Royston’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 Royston: questions
What is the median household income in Royston?
$34,435 (±$3,470) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Royston?
22.2%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Royston?
36 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Royston work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Athens (7%, 27 mi), Lavonia (6%, 10 mi), Hartwell (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Royston walkable?
Royston is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Royston without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Royston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Royston
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.