Photo: Maksim Sundukov · CC BY-SA 3.0Sandy Springs draws 128,410 commuters a day, with 2.7 jobs for every working resident
Sandy Springs has 135,976 jobs for 50,069 working residents. Jobs and income earn Sandy Springs A−; getting around on foot earns it A. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 9.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 22.2 in Atlanta.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Sandy Springs apart
Sandy Springs is where the jobs are
Sandy Springs has 135,976 jobs, 2.7 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 191,000 people are in town, 82% more than the 105,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Sandy Springs works from home
32% of Sandy Springs workers work from home, against 16% across Georgia. Time on the road ↓
Sandy Springs draws workers from far and wide
The 135,976 jobs in Sandy Springs are filled from a wide area. Sandy Springs’ own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 23%; the other 71% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
A lot of Sandy Springs works one town over
35% of working residents work in a town that borders Sandy Springs: Atlanta (24%), Dunwoody (4%) and Roswell (3%). Next door ↓
Most jobs in Sandy Springs pay over $40,000 a year
76% of the jobs based in Sandy Springs pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Sandy Springs’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sandy Springs is better than 82% of U.S. towns, #28 of 263 in Georgia. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.0%, 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, Sandy Springs could be anywhere from B+ to A.
A workday in Sandy Springs: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 42,503 residents head out to work and 7,566 work right here.
About 191,000 people are in Sandy Springs on a workday afternoon, 82% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
A commute of about 26 minutes in Sandy Springs
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sandy Springs workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 42,786 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.
Commuting in to Sandy Springs: where workers come from
Where Sandy Springs clocks in
24% of workers
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.
Services make up most of the work in Sandy Springs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sandy Springs, 2014 → 2024: 101,312 → 135,976. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Sandy Springs’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Sandy Springs
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Sandy Springs
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sandy Springs is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #22 of 263 in Georgia. Both inputs place Sandy Springs 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 62,833 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 56% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 2% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 9.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 93% 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). 7.2% of Sandy Springs households have no vehicle (Georgia 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Sandy Springs’ commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
How Sandy Springs ranks: 83rd of 409 U.S. towns of 74,000 to 142,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Johns Creek GA | 80,401 | $160K | 4.2% | 4.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Roswell GA | 91,505 | $129K | 7.5% | 3.8% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Layton UT | 85,308 | $102K | 8.1% | 2.8% | 15% | A− |
| 82 | Cambridge MA | 122,588 | $131K | 12.8% | 3.4% | 32% | A− |
| 83 | Sandy Springs GA | 105,013 | $104K | 8.5% | 4.0% | 15% | A− |
| 84 | West Des Moines IA | 74,224 | $87K | 8.4% | 2.4% | 30% | A− |
| 85 | Santa Clara CA | 133,446 | $179K | 8.4% | 5.1% | 15% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 228 | South Fulton GA | 112,820 | $82K | 9.1% | 7.2% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 409 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 Sandy Springs, the top three, the last and three more from Georgia.
Work next door: 35% of Sandy Springs’ workers
The biggest share goes to Atlanta (24%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sandy Springs workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Springs | – | A− | A | 26 min | $104,340 |
| Atlanta | 24% | B− | A+ | 27 min | $85,652 |
| Roswell | 3% | A | A− | 27 min | $128,654 |
| Dunwoody | 4% | A+ | A | 25 min | $121,903 |
| Peachtree Corners | 2% | A− | A− | 26 min | $82,139 |
| Brookhaven | 2% | A | A | 25 min | $117,663 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sandy Springs’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 2024, 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 Sandy Springs: questions
What is the median household income in Sandy Springs?
$104,340 (±$4,421) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sandy Springs?
8.5%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sandy Springs?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sandy Springs work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Atlanta (24%, 12 mi), Alpharetta (6%, 11 mi), Dunwoody (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Sandy Springs walkable?
Sandy Springs is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.6 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sandy Springs without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 2% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sandy Springs, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sandy Springs
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.