Photo: Nutriawood · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Gretna trail those of 94% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 18.8 in New Orleans. Below the poverty line: 26.9% of residents (Louisiana 18.9%). Jobs and income earn Gretna C−; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Gretna
Most Gretna residents work close to home
73% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
A lot of Gretna works one town over
35% of working residents work in a town that borders Gretna: New Orleans (30%) and Harvey (5%). Next door ↓
Gretna is where the jobs are
Gretna has 9,935 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Gretna
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gretna is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #90 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds Gretna’s grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gretna could be anywhere from C− to C+.
Gretna’s commute, mile by mile
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 and out of Gretna on a workday
On a workday 5,629 residents head out to work, 632 work right here, and 9,303 people come in from elsewhere.
About 21,000 people are in Gretna on a workday afternoon, 21% more than live here.
1.6 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.
The towns that send workers to Gretna
Where Gretna clocks in
30% of workers
9% 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 Gretna
9,935 jobs are based in Gretna.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gretna, 2013 → 2023: 10,169 → 9,935. 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 Gretna’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes each way, about the LA average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gretna workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,603 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Gretna
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gretna is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns, #6 of 161 in Louisiana. Both inputs place Gretna near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,173 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 21% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 3% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 70% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 16.3% of Gretna households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Gretna’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Gretna ranks: 1,705th of 1,999 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 442 | Youngsville LA | 19,980 | $106K | 9.1% | 1.2% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 609 | Mandeville LA | 12,918 | $94K | 7.1% | 2.9% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 711 | Moss Bluff LA | 12,482 | $92K | 8.9% | 1.1% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,703 | Guthrie OK | 12,257 | $53K | 19.4% | 5.6% | 23% | C− |
| 1,704 | Tillmans Corner AL | 17,677 | $61K | 17.9% | 8.9% | 4% | C− |
| 1,705 | Gretna LA | 17,360 | $43K | 26.9% | 6.3% | 10% | C− |
| 1,706 | Harrison AR | 13,802 | $44K | 14.9% | 3.7% | 50% | C− |
| 1,707 | Fairmont WV | 18,035 | $63K | 17.4% | 6.7% | 22% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Gretna, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
Gretna and its neighbors: 35% work next door
The biggest share goes to New Orleans (30%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gretna workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gretna | – | C− | A | 25 min | $43,110 |
| Harvey | 5% | C− | A | 29 min | $48,774 |
| New Orleans | 30% | C | A+ | 23 min | $56,631 |
| Terrytown | under 3% | C | B+ | 27 min | $51,718 |
| Timberlane | under 3% | C | B+ | 23 min | $65,901 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Gretna’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 Gretna: questions
What is the median household income in Gretna?
$43,110 (±$7,162) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gretna?
26.9%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gretna?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gretna work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Orleans (30%, 12 mi), Metairie (9%, 10 mi), Harvey (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Gretna walkable?
Gretna is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.4 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gretna without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. 3% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gretna, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gretna
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.