Photo: Frankbp · CC BY-SA 3.0Covington has 3.6 jobs for every working resident: 14,971 people commute in to work
Jobs and income earn Covington B−; getting around on foot earns it B. Employers in Covington report 15,950 jobs for 4,469 working residents. About one in five stay in Covington for work; outside it, New Orleans is the main destination (8%, 31 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Covington apart
Covington has far more jobs than workers
Covington has 15,950 jobs, 3.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 23,000 people are in town, 98% more than the 12,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Covington draws workers from far and wide
The 15,950 jobs in Covington are filled from a wide area. Covington’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 17%; the other 77% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Covington’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 28 minutes, longer than the Louisiana average of 26. Time on the road ↓
Covington’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Covington is New Orleans, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (360) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The biggest group of Covington’s workers comes from Slidell
883 of the people who work in Covington live in Slidell, 24 miles away, more than from any other town. The commute map ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Covington
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Covington is better than 47% of U.S. towns, #46 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds Covington’s grade up (ahead of 69% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Covington could be anywhere from C to A−.
In and out of Covington on a workday
On a workday 3,490 residents head out to work and 979 work right here.
About 23,000 people are in Covington on a workday afternoon, 98% more 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.
The daily trip into Covington
Where Covington clocks in
8% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
Getting to work from Covington takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Covington workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,980 commuters (the 13% 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.
Covington’s commute, mile by mile
About 15% 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.
In Covington, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Covington, 2013 → 2023: 13,749 → 15,950. 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 Covington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Covington, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Covington is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns, #73 of 161 in Louisiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.3% across Louisiana.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,585 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). 3.6% of Covington households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Covington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Covington places 1,697th of 2,695 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 366 | Belle Chasse LA | 10,934 | $115K | 6.1% | 2.5% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 765 | Mandeville LA | 12,918 | $94K | 7.1% | 2.9% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 891 | Moss Bluff LA | 12,482 | $92K | 8.9% | 1.1% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,695 | Lexington Park MD | 13,252 | $95K | 13.8% | 4.0% | 5% | B− |
| 1,696 | Greensburg IN | 12,315 | $63K | 13.8% | 2.3% | 33% | B− |
| 1,697 | Covington LA | 11,721 | $76K | 11.7% | 5.6% | 22% | B− |
| 1,698 | Geneva NY | 12,552 | $79K | 16.0% | 3.4% | 29% | B− |
| 1,699 | Waupun WI | 11,150 | $66K | 16.6% | 2.4% | 17% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Covington, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
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 Covington: questions
What is the median household income in Covington?
$75,851 (±$6,237) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Covington?
11.7%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Covington?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Covington work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Orleans (8%, 31 mi), Metairie (5%, 34 mi), Mandeville (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Covington walkable?
Covington is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Covington without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Covington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Covington
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.