Ask Rob
The Jobs Corridor
Relocating for work? Consider Mulberry and the I-85 corridor.
The area around Gwinnett's newest city sits in the middle of Georgia's fastest-growing jobs corridor, with new plants, warehouses, tech offices and manufacturing giants anchoring within a short commute. If you are moving to Georgia for a job, this is where the work and the housing argument converge.
Commute numbers throughout this page are approximate ranges for planning, not promises. Traffic varies with the dayand the direction.
The Guides
Relocation resources
- Moving to Gwinnett
- Leaving Georgia
- Moving to or from Germany
- eXp Relocation services , opens in a new tab
As an eXp Realty agent, I can connect you with a vetted eXp agent in another country when your move lands abroad, through the brokerage's global referral network, and I handle relocation inquiries in English and German.
Why this area works for commuters
Geography as strategy
Mulberry reads as a central base, not an endpoint: it sits just off I-85 in northeastern Gwinnett, within reach of employers across Jackson, Hall, Gwinnettand Barrow counties. One base, several employers, a housing market that holds value between job changes.
That is the practical argument for landing somewhere central rather than nextdoor to any single plant: when the employer shifts, when the expansion lands, when the family situation changes, the house does not stop making sense. Home value, lifestyle, schools and future-proofing get bought together, not one at a time.
Folks around here used to have to travel much further for technology jobs. Now you've got a technology project like Rowen with thousands of jobs potentially, minutes from Mulberry, where you can still buy an acre lot, keep horses, and live in a brand-new city that's deliberately keeping development more controlled. I believe it's the place to be inside Gwinnett right now.
Rob Dietrich, REALTOR®, eXp Realty
Braselton
Amazon, Fox Factory
about 15-20 minutes
Pendergrass
Siemens
about 25-30 minutes
Commerce
SK Battery
about 30-35 minutes
Jefferson
Kubota
about 25-30 minutes
Gainesville
Kubota, Fox
about 30-35 minutes
Suwanee
Socomec
about 25-30 minutes
Lawrenceville
Cisco
about 25-35 minutes
Dacula
Publix
about 15-20 minutes
Approximate ranges on normal days from Mulberry, not promises. Traffic, weatherand the new plant builds will all move them around.
The Employers
The companies putting roots here
Reported figures from public announcements, attributed as announced or reported. None of the numbers below are promises; they are the working facts of the corridor.
01
Siemens
Pendergrass, Jackson County
Announced August 2026, with about a $185 million investment in a new electrical-components plant near Pendergrass, targeting roughly 1,400 jobs. The plant is expected to take about three years to complete. It is one of the region's largest recent industrial announcements.
02
SK Battery America
Commerce, Jackson County
The roughly $2.6 billion EV battery complex that helped make Georgia a national EV manufacturing hub, employing thousands at its peak. Straight talk:2026 brought demand-driven layoffs reported at the plant. The EV cycle is adjusting, and the complex remains a landmark anchor for the region's manufacturing identity.
03
Amazon Fulfillment Center
Braselton, 650 Broadway Ave
The Braselton fulfillment center, over 600,000 square feet, opened with more than500 jobs reported. It sits just up the road from Mulberry and is a steady logistics employer for the corridor.
04
Fox Factory
Braselton, with Gainesville ties
A Braselton-based manufacturer of ride-dynamics technology, including Fox-brand suspension, with engineering and production roles in Braselton plus Gainesville ties.
05
Kubota Manufacturing of America
Jeffersonand Gainesville
A major manufacturing operation reporting more than3,500 employees, with about half of all Kubota-branded equipment sold inthe US manufactured or assembledin Georgia.
06
Socomec
Suwanee, Gwinnett County
Announced late 2025 plans to establish electrical-components manufacturing in Suwanee, a project reported at abouta $10 million investment targeting roughly 300 jobs.
07
Cisco
Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County
One of Gwinnett's largest tech employers, with a major presence in Lawrenceville and ongoing hiring across network, engineering and support roles.
08
Publix
Dacula, Gwinnett County
A large distribution operation in Dacula, reported at roughly 1,500 jobs. A stable, non-cyclical anchor for the area's employment base.
09
Healthcare & education anchors
Duluth, Snellville, Lawrenceville
Steady employers that make the area resilient: Northside Hospital Duluth with roughly 2,700 reported jobs, Piedmont Eastside Medical Center with roughly 1,200, and Georgia Gwinnett College with roughly 1,500. Healthcare and education do not swing with the manufacturing cycle.
The GA 316 Engine
Rowen: the eastern Gwinnett knowledge community
A second, longer-horizon jobs story on the other side of the county: knowledge, not just rooftops.
Rowen is the 2,000-acre knowledge community off GA 316 between Dacula and Auburn, led by the nonprofit Rowen Foundation. UCB's reported $2 billion biologics manufacturing campus anchors there, described as the largest capital investment announced in Gwinnett history, with hundreds of high-wage jobs expected over time. A planned roughly 10,000-square-foot Convergence Center research hub comes next, against an up-to-22-million-square-foot build-out vision with as many as 100,000 jobs at full build-out, aspirational and multi-decade.
It matters for relocations even though it sits on the GA 316 corridor rather than I-85:the region's long-term job base runs far deeper than any single corridor, and eastern Gwinnett, in particular, is where that depth is being built.
The longer book
Projects at this scale announce years ahead of their build-out, which is exactly why they reward patient buyers instead of short-term speculation. The towns between Dacula and Winder do the practical work in the meantime.
Read the full Rowen briefFollow Rowen: the 2,000-acre knowledge community reshaping eastern Gwinnett. Read the brief.
The Case for Mulberry
Why land here specifically
A relocating worker could land almost anywhere on the corridor. The argument for landing in Mulberryis that it does not bet everything on one plant or one employer: it bases the move on the corridor itself, a position that holds whether the next headline is a plant opening or a plant adjustment.
Gwinnett's newest city
Incorporated in 2024 and operational sincethe January1, 2025.
The county's largest by land
Roughly26 square miles on both sides of Interstate 85, bordering Hall and Barrow counties.
No city property tax
Mulberry runs as a low-service city, so municipal taxes stay limited unless voters approve more.
Established plus new
A housing mix from mature neighborhoods to new construction to homes on acreage.
I-85 runs through town
The interstate that most of the corridor's employers touch passes straight through Mulberry.
Lake Lanier close north
Weekend water country is a short drive, without living on the tourist schedule.
Gwinnett schools
The county's cluster systemand school reputation anchor most family buying decisions.
Quiet, low-density character
The city's own vision reads low-density residential; that character is the draw, not the exception.
Explore the Towns
Compare the bases, then pick one
Fifteen community briefs across six counties, filed under the county that anchors them. Open the ones that fit your commute.
Schools
The districts behind the move
For job-driven relocations, the school district often decides the town. These are the governing public school districts for the communities covered here, each with its official district website. Rob verifies the current assignment for every specific address before any school conversation.
- Gwinnett County Public Schools , opens in a new tab
- Buford City Schools , opens in a new tab
- Jackson County School System , opens in a new tab
- Hall County Schools , opens in a new tab
- Barrow County Schools , opens in a new tab
- Walton County School District , opens in a new tab
School assignments and attendance zones can change, and buyers should verify the assigned schools for a specific property directly with the district before relying on them. Buford runs its own city district, and assignments there ride on the address just like in the county systems.
Asked Often
The questions relocations lead with
Straight answers first, detail on the call. Each question below is one Rob actually fields from out-of-state buyers working the corridor.
What's the commute like from Mulberry to the new Siemens plant?
About 25 to 30 minutes to the Pendergrass site on a normal day, with the plant positioned near the I-85 interchange and most of the drive running on highway. Traffic varies with the shift schedule, so treat the range as a planning number, not a promise.
Read the full answerWhere should I live near the Amazon facility in Braselton?
The fulfillment center sits at 650 Broadway Avenue, roughly 15 to 20 minutes from Mulberry, Hamilton Mill and the north Buford side on a normal day. Braselton and Hoschton sit closest, while Hamilton Mill and Mulberry trade minutes for Gwinnett schools and larger lots.
Read the full answerIs the area good for tech jobs?
Measured, yes: Cisco runs one of Gwinnett's largest tech presences from Lawrenceville, Socomec plans electrical-components manufacturing in Suwanee, and the broader I-85 corridor keeps adding network, engineering and support roles. It is steady infrastructure tech employment, not Silicon Valley.
Read the full answerWhat housing is available for someone relocating?
The range runs from established neighborhoods with mature trees to new construction programs to larger homes on acreage, much of it in the mid-to-upper price bands by Gwinnett standards. Bucket the answers by commute, then school cluster, then street.
Read the full answerIs Mulberry a good base for commuting to these employers?
For most of them, yes. Mulberry sits roughly centered among the corridor's anchors, with I-85 running through town and employers within a roughly 25 to 35 minute radius. Traffic concentrates at shift changes, and any commute number depends on when you leave.
Read the full answerWhat's changing in the area over the next few years?
The visible pipeline: the Siemens plant near Pendergrass, announced in 2026 at about a $185 million investment targeting roughly 1,400 jobs, expected to take about three years; Socomec's Suwanee manufacturing plans; and builders adding new construction across the corridor.
Read the full answerWhat is Rowen and why does it matter for relocating?
Rowen is the 2,000-acre knowledge community off GA 316 between Dacula and Auburn, led by the nonprofit Rowen Foundation, with UCB's reported $2 billion biologics campus as the anchor. It adds a second, longer-horizon jobs engine on the GA 316 corridor.
Read the full answerThe Deeper Guides
Inbound or outbound, there is a plan
Detailed guides cover the move in each direction and the personally vetted referral process, filed with the numbers and the strategy.
Moving to Greater Atlanta and Gwinnett
Transportation, schools, job corridors and population trends for households relocating from another state or country, and how Rob coordinates remotely.
Leaving Georgia
Selling strategy and timing for moves out of state or out of the country, with eXp network connections to vetted local agents in the destination.
Referrals
How Rob personally researches, vets and interviews agents in other markets before recommending anyone, so a referral is an introduction to a proven local professional, never a name from a directory.
Moving internationally?
Moving into Georgia from abroad, or heading out of the country? Through eXp's international network, Rob can connect you with vetted local eXp agents in more than 25 countries for the move outbound, and he serves international buyers and renters directly for the move into the Atlanta and North Georgia region.
The Next Step
Get a local strategy for your move.
One base, several employersanda housing market that holds value between job changes is a strategy position, nota listing pitch. Bring your job site and your school questions. The fifteen-minute call turns them into a shortlist.
Prefer to talk? Call or text 770-230-4277,or send a note.