Ardoyne Plantation House · Photo: Z28scrambler · CC BY-SA 3.0There are 2.2 jobs in Gray for every working resident, and 4,478 people commute in
There are 4,617 jobs in Gray, against 2,123 working residents. Jobs and income earn Gray C−; getting around on foot earns it C+. Measured by household income, Gray is behind 82% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Gray in brief
Jobs in Gray have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Gray went from 1,176 in 2013 to 4,617 in 2023, +293%. The jobs ↓
Gray is where the jobs are
Gray has 4,617 jobs, 2.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 7,600 people are in town, 48% more than the 5,200 who live here. Day and night ↓
Gray makes and builds things
54% of the jobs based in Gray are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Gray residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 20%. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Gray pay better than its residents’ jobs
76% of the jobs based in Gray pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 50% of the jobs Gray residents hold. 97% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Gray. The jobs ↓
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.
The four measures behind Gray’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gray is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #100 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds Gray’s grade up (ahead of 52% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.3%, U.S. 5.2%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gray could be anywhere from D to B−.
Goods jobs make up 54% of work in Gray
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gray, 2013 → 2023: 1,176 → 4,617. 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 Gray’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Gray
On a workday 1,984 residents head out to work and 139 work right here.
About 7,600 people are in Gray on a workday afternoon, 48% more than live here.
2.2 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where the people who work in Gray live
Where Gray clocks in
7% of workers
3% 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.
Each way, about 26 minutes from Gray
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gray workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,105 commuters (the 4% 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.
The distance from Gray to work
About 16% 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.
Gray is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gray is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns, #111 of 161 in Louisiana. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.3% across Louisiana, on an EPA index of 5.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,183 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). 2.9% of Gray households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Gray’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,600 to 7,000, Gray ranks 3,075th of 3,696 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 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,061 | Elmwood LA | 6,077 | $89K | 7.7% | 4.8% | 13% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,328 | Westlake LA | 4,763 | $68K | 12.1% | 0.0% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,351 | Red Chute LA | 6,526 | $86K | 7.5% | 4.1% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,073 | Somerset PA | 5,815 | $47K | 17.2% | 5.1% | 25% | C− |
| 3,074 | Myrtletown CA | 5,322 | $60K | 17.2% | 6.7% | 6% | C− |
| 3,075 | Gray LA | 5,154 | $55K | 14.7% | 7.3% | 7% | C− |
| 3,076 | Conley GA | 5,822 | $44K | 35.8% | 8.5% | <1% | C− |
| 3,077 | Alma AR | 6,071 | $69K | 27.3% | 7.6% | 15% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,696 | 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 Gray, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
Work in the towns next to Gray
The biggest share goes to Bayou Blue (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gray workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gray | – | C− | C+ | 26 min | $54,559 |
| Bayou Blue | 2% | C− | C− | 31 min | $63,958 |
| Schriever | 1% | C+ | C− | 25 min | $66,571 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Gray’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 Gray: questions
What is the median household income in Gray?
$54,559 (±$6,862) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gray?
14.7%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gray?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gray work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bayou Cane (17%, 4 mi), Thibodaux (7%, 8 mi), Baton Rouge (3%, 57 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Gray walkable?
Gray is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gray without a car?
1% 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 Gray, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gray
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.