Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHouseholds in Louisa earn less than those in 96% of U.S. towns
About one in three work in Louisa itself; outside it, Ashland draws the most (6%, 24 miles). The poverty rate is 22.3%, next to 16.1% for Kentucky as a whole. Jobs and income earn Louisa D−; getting around on foot earns it B+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Louisa in brief
Louisa has far more jobs than workers
Louisa has 3,034 jobs, 3.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 4,700 people are in town, 87% more than the 2,500 who live here. Day and night ↓
Louisa has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Louisa went from 1,889 in 2013 to 3,034 in 2023, +61%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Louisa are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across Kentucky. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Kentucky worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 846 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The figures behind Louisa’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Louisa is better than 3% of U.S. towns, #136 of 142 in Kentucky. Job access by car holds Louisa’s grade up (ahead of 24% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (11.1%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Louisa could be anywhere from D− to C−.
The workday shuffle in and out of Louisa
On a workday 558 residents head out to work, 288 work right here, and 2,746 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,700 people are in Louisa on a workday afternoon, 87% more than live here.
3.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Inside Louisa’s 3,034 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Louisa, 2013 → 2023: 1,889 → 3,034. 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 Louisa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 19 minutes to work from Louisa
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Louisa workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 791 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Kentucky: 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.
Commuting in to Louisa: where workers come from
Where Louisa clocks in
6% 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.
How far it is to work from Louisa
About 23% 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.
Most of Louisa commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Louisa is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns, #48 of 142 in Kentucky. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.1% across Kentucky.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 849 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 14.7% of Louisa households have no vehicle (Kentucky 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Louisa’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,400, and where Louisa sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Lakeside Park KY | 2,847 | $129K | 1.5% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| 15 | Indian Hills KY | 2,939 | $192K | 2.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Windy Hills KY | 2,476 | $131K | 5.1% | 1.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,627 | Augusta AR | 1,813 | $51K | 28.7% | 4.2% | 21% | D− |
| 4,628 | Sparks GA | 2,098 | $39K | 27.6% | 2.9% | <1% | D− |
| 4,629 | Louisa KY | 2,520 | $40K | 22.3% | 11.1% | 34% | D− |
| 4,630 | Barbourville KY | 3,064 | $22K | 51.8% | 8.6% | 34% | D− |
| 4,631 | Mountain View MO | 2,661 | $39K | 29.4% | 6.2% | 23% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,868 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Louisa, the top three, the last and three more from Kentucky.
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 Louisa: questions
What is the median household income in Louisa?
$40,000 (±$15,277) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Louisa?
22.3%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Louisa?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Louisa work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ashland (6%, 24 mi), Huntington (4%, 23 mi), Lexington (3%, 100 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Louisa walkable?
Louisa is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 11.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Louisa without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Louisa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Louisa
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. 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.