Photo: Z28scrambler · CC BY-SA 3.0French Settlement has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
99 jobs are based in French Settlement; 448 of its residents have a job. French Settlement grades C+ for jobs and income and D for walkability. Only 1% stay in French Settlement for work; outside it, Baton Rouge is the main destination (15%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set French Settlement apart
French Settlement is a place people come home to
There are 99 jobs based in French Settlement, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday French Settlement has about 820 people in it, 30% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
French Settlement workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 26 across Louisiana. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 92 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 448 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why French Settlement gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, French Settlement is better than 41% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds French Settlement’s grade up (ahead of 66% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (17.8%, U.S. 12.5%).
Unemployment (5.8%) is left out: French Settlement’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, French Settlement could be anywhere from C to B+.
The daily flow of workers through French Settlement
On a workday 442 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 93 people come in from elsewhere.
About 820 people are in French Settlement on a workday afternoon, 30% 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.
French Settlement’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 French Settlement workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 475 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 French Settlement goes to work
Where French Settlement clocks in
15% of workers
4% 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.
French Settlement works in goods: 33% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in French Settlement, 2013 → 2023: 45 → 99. 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 French Settlement’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from French Settlement to work
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.
Most of French Settlement commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, French Settlement is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 0.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.3% across Louisiana, on an EPA index of 3.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 501 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). 3.0% of French Settlement households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of French Settlement’s commuters take a bus or train.
French Settlement next to U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600: 1,863rd of 4,312 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 489 | Lockport Heights LA | 1,481 | $126K | 7.5% | 0.0% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 707 | Mathews LA | 1,598 | $87K | 6.0% | 1.6% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,056 | Perry LA | 1,424 | $82K | 9.5% | 1.3% | 1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,861 | Polar WI | 1,012 | $76K | 5.5% | 2.4% | 1% | C+ |
| 1,862 | St. Croix Falls WI | 1,171 | $82K | 12.6% | 3.1% | 1% | C+ |
| 1,863 | French Settlement LA | 1,166 | $72K | 17.8% | 5.8% | 1% | C+ |
| 1,864 | Edgerton MN | 1,256 | $69K | 5.1% | 3.2% | 26% | C+ |
| 1,865 | Minneota MN | 1,357 | $74K | 6.7% | 2.6% | 8% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 French Settlement, 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 French Settlement: questions
What is the median household income in French Settlement?
$72,396 (±$5,543) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in French Settlement?
17.8%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from French Settlement?
38 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in French Settlement work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baton Rouge (15%, 20 mi), Livingston (4%, 12 mi), Gonzales (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is French Settlement walkable?
French Settlement is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 3.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around French Settlement without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from French Settlement, from the people who make the trip.
More of French Settlement
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.