Atlanta has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Atlanta has 10 jobs; 61 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Atlanta itself; outside it, Winnfield draws the most (23%, 10 miles). The average commute takes 30 minutes each way, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of Atlanta, and who commutes in
On a workday 61 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 10 people come in from elsewhere.
About 120 people are in Atlanta on a workday afternoon, 30% 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 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Atlanta to work: where people go
Where Atlanta clocks in
23% of workers
7% of workers
7% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 90% of the jobs in Atlanta
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Atlanta, 2013 → 2023: 9 → 10. 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 Atlanta’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Atlanta: about 30 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Atlanta workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 67 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Louisiana: 85% 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 Atlanta commutes less than 21 miles
About 30% 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.
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 Atlanta: questions
What is the poverty rate in Atlanta?
23.2%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Atlanta?
30 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Atlanta work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Winnfield (23%, 10 mi), Colfax (7%, 20 mi), Natchitoches (7%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Atlanta without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 50% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Atlanta, from the people who make the trip.
More of Atlanta
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.