Catahoula has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
Working residents average 39 minutes each way; Louisiana averages 26, the U.S. 26. 92 jobs are based in Catahoula, and 414 of its residents work somewhere. Only 4% stay in Catahoula for work; outside it, Lafayette is the main destination (22%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Catahoula
Catahoula is a place people come home to
There are 92 jobs based in Catahoula, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Catahoula has about 270 people in it, 54% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Catahoula workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 39 minutes each way, against 26 across Louisiana. Over a year that’s about 299 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical 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; with 414 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How a workday changes Catahoula
On a workday 396 residents head out to work, 18 work right here, and 74 people come in from elsewhere.
About 270 people are in Catahoula on a workday afternoon, 54% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
About 39 minutes to work from Catahoula
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Catahoula workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 244 commuters (the 5% 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 people from Catahoula work
Where Catahoula clocks in
22% of workers
6% of workers
6% 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 Catahoula
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Catahoula, 2013 → 2023: 44 → 92. 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 Catahoula’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Catahoula’s workers travel
About 17% 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 Catahoula: questions
What is the median household income in Catahoula?
$44,539 (±$12,120) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Catahoula?
31.8%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Catahoula?
39 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Catahoula work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lafayette (22%, 18 mi), Breaux Bridge (6%, 12 mi), St. Martinville (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Catahoula without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Catahoula, from the people who make the trip.
More of Catahoula
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.