Faced With Infamously Bad Traffic, More Atlanta Residents Choose to Telecommute

More people are telecommuting in Atlanta, keeping cars of the road, but the percentages of people driving alone to work, taking transit, and walking or biking to work are holding steady.

1 minute read

June 6, 2019, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Atlanta Traffic

Ken Lund / Flickr

The Atlanta Regional Commission recently published an analysis of commuting patterns in the region, analyzing a decade's worth of Census data and finding very little change in driving alone to work and public transit commutes.

"About three out of four metro Atlanta residents drove alone to work in 2017, unchanged from 2008," according to David Wickert. And "[a]bout 3.5 percent of workers took public transportation to their job – about the same as a decade earlier."

One area experiencing a notable increase was telecommuting. "In 2008, about 5.7 percent of residents worked from home. By 2017, that had jumped to 7.3 percent – or an estimated 208,000 people," according to Wickert.

Paul Donzky also provides detailed coverage of the new study, in an article written for the Atlanta Regional Commission's "What's Next ATL" website.

Wednesday, June 5, 2019 in Atlanta Journal Constitution

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Haussmann's redesign of Paris in the 1850s through 1870s under Napoleon III.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking

Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

June 30, 2025 - Tom Sanchez

Street with parking protected bike lane and parked cars in downtown Portland, Oregon.

Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance

The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.

July 8 - Willamette Week

Aerial view of Spokane, Washington with river in foreground.

Spokane Mayor Introduces Housing Reforms Package

Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposals include deferring or waiving some development fees to encourage more affordable housing development.

July 8 - The Spokesman-Review

Close-up on black and white "Bike Lane Ends" sign with bike logo.

Houston Mayor Kills Another Bike Lane

The mayor rejected a proposed bike lane in the Montrose district in keeping with his pledge to maintain car lanes.

July 8 - Houston Public Media

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA