Oak Alley Plantation · Photo: RonPaul86 · CC BY-SA 3.0A job hub: Hester has 2.6 jobs per working resident, and 535 people come in to work
Only 3% stay in Hester for work; outside it, Convent is the main destination (9%, 3 miles). There are 541 jobs in Hester; 207 of its residents have a job. 17% of workers work from home, against 8% across Louisiana.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Hester
Hester makes and builds things
97% of the jobs based in Hester are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Hester residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 33%. The jobs ↓
Hester is where the jobs are
Hester has 541 jobs, 2.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 990 people are in town, 51% more than the 650 who live here. Day and night ↓
The jobs in Hester pay better than its residents’ jobs
97% of the jobs based in Hester pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 70% of the jobs Hester residents hold. 99% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Hester. 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; with 207 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Factories, building and farms: 97% of the jobs in Hester
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hester, 2013 → 2023: 233 → 541. 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 Hester’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Hester on a workday
On a workday 201 residents head out to work and 6 work right here.
About 990 people are in Hester on a workday afternoon, 51% 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 Hester
Where Hester clocks in
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.
How long Hester spends getting to work: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hester workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 282 commuters (the 17% 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.
Half of Hester commutes less than 17 miles
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.
Work in the towns next to Hester
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hester workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hester | – | — | — | 29 min | $138,879 |
| Grand Point | under 3% | B+ | C− | 26 min | $88,674 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hester’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 Hester: questions
What is the median household income in Hester?
$138,879 (±$58,393) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hester?
0.0%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hester?
29 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hester work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Convent (9%, 3 mi), Lutcher (6%, 4 mi), Gonzales (6%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Hester without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hester, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hester
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.