Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0Santa Claus has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
Santa Claus has 9 jobs; 82 of its residents have a job. Hardly any stay in Santa Claus for work; outside it, Vidalia is the main destination (24%, 5 miles). Home is the office for 1% of workers, next to 16% for Georgia as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Santa Claus by day and by night
On a workday 82 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 9 people come in from elsewhere.
About 130 people are in Santa Claus on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer 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.
Where Santa Claus goes to work
Where Santa Claus clocks in
24% of workers
15% of workers
2% 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.
The kinds of work in Santa Claus
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Santa Claus, 2014 → 2024: 5 → 9. 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 Santa Claus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Santa Claus: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Santa Claus workers work from home, vs 16% across Georgia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 78 commuters (the 1% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Santa Claus
About 28% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Bordering towns draw 15% of Santa Claus’ workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Santa Claus workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Claus | – | — | — | 20 min | $53,750 |
| Lyons | 15% | C− | B | 16 min | $42,059 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Lyons. Darker towns draw more of Santa Claus’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 Santa Claus: questions
What is the median household income in Santa Claus?
$53,750 (±$44,117) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,353 across Georgia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Santa Claus?
6.5%, against 13.4% across Georgia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Santa Claus?
20 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Georgia and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Santa Claus work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Vidalia (24%, 5 mi), Lyons (15%, 2 mi), Ailey (2%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Santa Claus without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Santa Claus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Santa Claus
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.