Robert "Bob" Hicks House · Photo: Z28scrambler · CC BY-SA 4.0Bogalusa’s household incomes are among the lowest in the country
39.4% of residents live below the poverty line (Louisiana 18.9%). Household incomes here are among the lowest in the country. Bogalusa grades D− for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Bogalusa, in a few figures
Bogalusa’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Bogalusa is New Orleans, 50 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (322) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
40% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Bogalusa
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bogalusa is better than 2% of U.S. towns, #153 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds Bogalusa’s grade up (ahead of 31% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($30,749, U.S. $80,734).
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bogalusa stays D−.
How many miles Bogalusa commutes
About 40% 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.
Who commutes out of Bogalusa, and who commutes in
On a workday 2,990 residents head out to work, 794 work right here, and 2,301 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.82 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
9% of working residents work in New Orleans
Where Bogalusa clocks in
9% of workers
4% 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.
What the 3,095 jobs in Bogalusa are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bogalusa, 2013 → 2023: 3,621 → 3,095. 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 Bogalusa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Bogalusa spends getting to work: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bogalusa workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,181 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.
In Bogalusa, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bogalusa is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns, #87 of 161 in Louisiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.3% across Louisiana.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,328 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). 17.5% of Bogalusa households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bogalusa’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Bogalusa compares with U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 186 | Addis LA | 7,679 | $108K | 3.2% | 1.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 362 | Belle Chasse LA | 10,934 | $115K | 6.1% | 2.5% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 763 | Mandeville LA | 12,918 | $94K | 7.1% | 2.9% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,864 | Mendota CA | 12,778 | $50K | 27.5% | 11.5% | 15% | D− |
| 2,865 | Clarksdale MS | 13,643 | $36K | 40.3% | 10.8% | 40% | D− |
| 2,866 | Bogalusa LA | 10,321 | $31K | 39.4% | 15.7% | 21% | D− |
| 2,867 | Forrest City AR | 12,308 | $36K | 37.7% | 13.5% | 41% | D− |
| 2,868 | Huron CA | 7,394 | $53K | 30.4% | 12.4% | 2% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Bogalusa, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
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 Bogalusa: questions
What is the median household income in Bogalusa?
$30,749 (±$7,836) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bogalusa?
39.4%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bogalusa?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bogalusa work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Orleans (9%, 50 mi), Baton Rouge (4%, 79 mi), Metairie (4%, 57 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bogalusa walkable?
Bogalusa is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bogalusa without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 18% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bogalusa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bogalusa
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.