Photo: New Orleans News Company, New Orleans · Public domainUnemployment in Avondale (8.6%) is higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
Only 2% stay in Avondale for work; outside it, New Orleans is the main destination (20%, 19 miles). For jobs and income Avondale is better than 19% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns (D). Measured by household income, Avondale is behind 89% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Avondale in brief
Fewer jobs are based in Avondale than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Avondale fell from 2,856 in 2013 to 984 in 2023, −66%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Most Avondale residents work close to home
72% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Avondale and New Orleans trade workers both ways
New Orleans is the top workplace for Avondale residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Avondale come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
How Avondale earns its Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Avondale’s grade up (ahead of 86% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (30.9%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Avondale could be anywhere from D to B.
A place that makes things: 33% of Avondale’s jobs are in goods
984 jobs are based in Avondale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Avondale, 2013 → 2023: 2,856 → 984. 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 Avondale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Avondale’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Where people from Avondale work
Where Avondale clocks in
20% of workers
14% of workers
9% 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.
Avondale by day and by night
On a workday 1,666 residents head out to work, 39 work right here, and 945 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,900 people are in Avondale on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.58 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
How long Avondale spends getting to work: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Avondale workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,948 commuters (the 4% 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.
Most trips from Avondale start in a car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.3% across Louisiana.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,033 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.8% of Avondale households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Avondale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Avondale is 3,269th of 3,938 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,200 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 301 | Hahnville LA | 3,520 | $101K | 6.7% | 0.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,063 | Elmwood LA | 6,077 | $89K | 7.7% | 4.8% | 13% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,337 | Westlake LA | 4,763 | $68K | 12.1% | 0.0% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,267 | Harrogate TN | 4,454 | $66K | 12.4% | 5.8% | 14% | C− |
| 3,268 | Comanche TX | 4,420 | $52K | 25.9% | 2.8% | 26% | C− |
| 3,269 | Avondale LA | 4,608 | $49K | 30.9% | 8.6% | 2% | C− |
| 3,270 | Grambling LA | 5,314 | — | 52.4% | 5.3% | 10% | C− |
| 3,271 | Davison MI | 5,039 | $49K | 16.1% | 10.3% | 7% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,938 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Avondale, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
Around Avondale: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Elmwood (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Avondale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avondale | – | C− | D | 24 min | $48,661 |
| Bridge City | under 3% | C− | B+ | 24 min | $57,031 |
| Waggaman | under 3% | C | C− | 30 min | $68,374 |
| Harahan | under 3% | A− | A− | 20 min | $79,516 |
| Elmwood | 9% | B+ | B+ | 18 min | $89,430 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Avondale’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 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 Avondale: questions
What is the median household income in Avondale?
$48,661 (±$10,697) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Avondale?
30.9%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Avondale?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Avondale work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Orleans (20%, 19 mi), Metairie (14%, 7 mi), Elmwood (9%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Avondale walkable?
Avondale is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Avondale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Avondale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Avondale
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.