Photo: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Jobs and earnings in Castor, and the trip to work
The trip to work takes 38 minutes on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. Only 3% stay in Castor for work; outside it, Shreveport is the main destination (16%, 39 miles). Employers in Castor report 53 jobs, against 76 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Castor
On a workday 74 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 51 people come in from elsewhere.
About 200 people are in Castor on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.70 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 towns that employ Castor’s residents
Where Castor clocks in
16% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
The kinds of work in Castor
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Castor, 2013 → 2023: 48 → 53. 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 Castor’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Castor’s commute takes about 38 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Castor workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 82 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.
Where in the region Castor works
About 28% 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.
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 Castor: questions
What is the median household income in Castor?
$30,179 (±$23,769) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Castor?
45.8%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Castor?
38 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Castor work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Shreveport (16%, 39 mi), Arcadia (5%, 25 mi), Bossier City (5%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Castor without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 20% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Castor, from the people who make the trip.
More of Castor
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.