Unemployment in Carlyss (0.1%) is lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
Only 4% stay in Carlyss for work; outside it, Lake Charles is the main destination (33%, 10 miles). For jobs and income Carlyss is better than 65% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (B−). 1% of workers work from home, next to 8% for Louisiana as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Carlyss: the gist
Carlyss makes and builds things
66% of the jobs based in Carlyss are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Carlyss residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 28%. The jobs ↓
Carlyss and Lake Charles trade workers both ways
Lake Charles is the top workplace for Carlyss residents (33%) and also where the most people who work in Carlyss come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The jobs in Carlyss pay better than its residents’ jobs
75% of the jobs based in Carlyss pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 57% of the jobs Carlyss residents hold. 97% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Carlyss. The jobs ↓
Carlyss has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Carlyss went from 1,704 in 2013 to 2,453 in 2023, +44%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Carlyss are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 26 across Louisiana. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Louisiana 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Carlyss
Unemployment holds Carlyss’ grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (16.1%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Carlyss could be anywhere from C+ to A.
In Carlyss, 66% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
2,453 jobs are based in Carlyss.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Carlyss, 2013 → 2023: 1,704 → 2,453. 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 Carlyss’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Carlyss’ working residents head each day
Where Carlyss clocks in
2% 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 long Carlyss spends getting to work: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Carlyss workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,186 commuters (the 1% 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.
Who leaves Carlyss for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,770 residents head out to work, 75 work right here, and 2,378 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,000 people are in Carlyss on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.33 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.
How far Carlyss’ workers travel
About 21% 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.
Getting around Carlyss: mostly by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,215 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). 8.6% of Carlyss households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Carlyss’ commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,000 U.S. towns of 3,100 to 6,000, Carlyss comes 1,444th 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 309 | Hahnville LA | 3,520 | $101K | 6.7% | 0.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,356 | Westlake LA | 4,763 | $68K | 12.1% | 0.0% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,382 | Maurice LA | 3,215 | $91K | 11.8% | 3.4% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,442 | Coplay PA | 3,532 | $62K | 11.9% | 1.6% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,443 | Adams Township IN | 5,241 | $69K | 4.9% | 2.6% | 13% | B+ |
| 1,444 | Carlyss LA | 4,412 | $78K | 16.1% | 0.1% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,445 | Palmyra NY | 3,257 | $65K | 10.4% | 0.7% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,446 | Twin Township OH | 4,213 | $73K | 10.1% | 1.2% | 6% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,000 | 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 Carlyss, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
Next door is work for 15% of Carlyss
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Sulphur. Darker towns draw more of Carlyss’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 Carlyss: questions
What is the median household income in Carlyss?
$78,179 (±$37,126) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Carlyss?
16.1%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Carlyss?
21 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Carlyss work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lake Charles (33%, 10 mi), Sulphur (15%, 4 mi), Lafayette (2%, 80 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Carlyss walkable?
Carlyss is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Carlyss without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Carlyss, from the people who make the trip.
More of Carlyss
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.