Household incomes in Brownsville trail those of 98% of U.S. towns
Only 3% stay in Brownsville for work; outside it, Monroe is the main destination (31%, 5 miles). Poverty touches 29.4% of residents (Louisiana 18.9%). Brownsville 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
Jobs and commuting in Brownsville: the gist
Commutes from Brownsville are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 26 across Louisiana. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Louisiana worker. Time on the road ↓
The jobs in Brownsville pay better than its residents’ jobs
70% of the jobs based in Brownsville pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 41% of the jobs Brownsville residents hold. 98% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Brownsville. The jobs ↓
Brownsville makes and builds things
52% of the jobs based in Brownsville are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Brownsville residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 17%. The jobs ↓
Brownsville is where the jobs are
Brownsville has 2,495 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Most Brownsville residents work close to home
66% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. 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.
The figures behind Brownsville’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Brownsville is better than 10% of U.S. towns, #126 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds Brownsville’s grade up (ahead of 69% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($35,526, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Brownsville could be anywhere from D to C.
Brownsville’s commute takes about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brownsville workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,702 commuters (the 3% 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.
Brownsville works in goods: 52% of its jobs
2,495 jobs are based in Brownsville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brownsville, 2013 → 2023: 3,209 → 2,495. 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 Brownsville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Brownsville on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,345 residents head out to work, 44 work right here, and 2,451 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,500 people are in Brownsville on a workday afternoon, 25% more than live here.
1.8 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.
How far Brownsville’s workers travel
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.
Who travels to work in Brownsville, and from where
Where Brownsville clocks in
31% of workers
21% of workers
3% 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.
For most of Brownsville, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Brownsville is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #67 of 161 in Louisiana. Both inputs place Brownsville near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,763 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). 14.9% of Brownsville households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Brownsville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Brownsville sits among U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,900
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 308 | Hahnville LA | 3,520 | $101K | 6.7% | 0.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 949 | Greenwood LA | 3,077 | $64K | 3.7% | 1.3% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,387 | Westlake LA | 4,763 | $68K | 12.1% | 0.0% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,772 | St. James MO | 3,925 | $53K | 19.4% | 7.5% | 20% | D |
| 3,773 | Winnsboro TX | 3,678 | $55K | 16.4% | 8.0% | 18% | D |
| 3,774 | Brownsville LA | 4,357 | $36K | 29.4% | 11.6% | 3% | D |
| 3,775 | Orchard City CO | 3,299 | $56K | 21.5% | 4.7% | 7% | D |
| 3,776 | Waynesboro GA | 5,511 | $42K | 26.0% | 6.1% | 28% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,136 | 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 Brownsville, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
Brownsville and its neighbors: 21% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brownsville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownsville | – | D | B | 14 min | $35,526 |
| West Monroe | 21% | D | B+ | 20 min | $49,386 |
| Bawcomville | under 1% | C− | B− | 24 min | $24,929 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to West Monroe. Darker towns draw more of Brownsville’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 Brownsville: questions
What is the median household income in Brownsville?
$35,526 (±$22,561) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brownsville?
29.4%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brownsville?
14 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brownsville work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Monroe (31%, 5 mi), West Monroe (21%, 2 mi), Ruston (3%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Brownsville walkable?
Brownsville is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brownsville 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 Brownsville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brownsville
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.