Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 3.0At 13.3%, unemployment in Bridge City is higher than in 98% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Bridge City are C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 78% of U.S. towns. Only 1% work in Bridge City itself; outside it, New Orleans draws the most (23%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Bridge City and work: the main findings
Most Bridge City residents work close to home
74% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
The jobs in Bridge City pay better than its residents’ jobs
68% of the jobs based in Bridge City pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 42% of the jobs Bridge City residents hold. 97% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Bridge City. The jobs ↓
A lot of Bridge City works one town over
36% of working residents work in a town that borders Bridge City: New Orleans (23%), Elmwood (8%) and Jefferson (3%). Next door ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Bridge City than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Bridge City fell from 1,241 in 2013 to 834 in 2023, −33%. 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 ↓
Bridge City makes and builds things
40% of the jobs based in Bridge City are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Bridge City residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 14%. The jobs ↓
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.
The figures behind Bridge City’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bridge City is better than 22% of U.S. towns, #94 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds Bridge City’s grade up (ahead of 89% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bridge City could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Where in the region Bridge City works
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.
40% of the jobs in Bridge City make or build things
834 jobs are based in Bridge City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bridge City, 2013 → 2023: 1,241 → 834. 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 Bridge City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Bridge City on a workday afternoon
On a workday 2,427 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 807 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,700 people are in Bridge City on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.34 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.
The places Bridge City commutes to
Where Bridge City clocks in
23% of workers
12% of workers
8% 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.
Time on the road from Bridge City: 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 Bridge City workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,460 commuters (the 8% 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.
Few in Bridge City walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bridge City is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #38 of 161 in Louisiana. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 9.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.3% across Louisiana, on an EPA index of 6.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,670 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). 5.3% of Bridge City households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Bridge City’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Bridge City is 2,614th of 3,154 U.S. towns of 5,100 to 9,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 187 | Addis LA | 7,679 | $108K | 3.2% | 1.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 970 | Harahan LA | 8,916 | $80K | 7.5% | 3.8% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,010 | Elmwood LA | 6,077 | $89K | 7.7% | 4.8% | 13% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,612 | Marion Township IN | 6,660 | $62K | 14.3% | 5.4% | 31% | C− |
| 2,613 | Westgate FL | 8,151 | $52K | 26.9% | 7.7% | 2% | C− |
| 2,614 | Bridge City LA | 7,297 | $57K | 24.1% | 13.3% | 1% | C− |
| 2,615 | Monticello IN | 5,595 | $53K | 11.1% | 5.9% | 22% | C− |
| 2,616 | Tomah WI | 9,600 | $51K | 16.7% | 4.3% | 38% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,154 | 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 Bridge City, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
Next door is work for 36% of Bridge City
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bridge City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridge City | – | C− | B+ | 24 min | $57,031 |
| Westwego | 2% | B− | B− | 24 min | $46,261 |
| Avondale | under 2% | C− | D | 24 min | $48,661 |
| Jefferson | 3% | B | A | 20 min | $57,235 |
| Elmwood | 8% | B+ | B+ | 18 min | $89,430 |
| New Orleans | 23% | C | A+ | 23 min | $56,631 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to New Orleans. Darker towns draw more of Bridge City’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 Bridge City: questions
What is the median household income in Bridge City?
$57,031 (±$10,969) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bridge City?
24.1%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bridge City?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bridge City work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Orleans (23%, 15 mi), Metairie (12%, 4 mi), Elmwood (8%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bridge City walkable?
Bridge City is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bridge City without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bridge City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bridge City
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.