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Ida, LA, Museum IMG 6338Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Billy Hathorn assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY 3.0
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Jobs & commute in Ida

Most of Ida commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident

Only 1% work in Ida; the top destination outside it is Shreveport (27%, 37 miles). There are 14 jobs in Ida; 70 of its residents have a job. Working from home is the commute for 0% of workers, next to 8% for Louisiana as a whole.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

In and out of Ida on a workday

On a workday 69 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 13 people come in from elsewhere.

69live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
13work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night210
Workday150
210live here− 69head out to work+ 13come in to work= 150on a workday

About 150 people are in Ida on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.20jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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 commute map

The towns that employ Ida’s residents

Fouke: 1 residents work here (1%)TexarkanaIdaBelcher: 2 residents work here (3%)Oil City: 2 residents work here (3%)Gilliam: 1 residents work here (1%)Benton: 2 residents work here (3%)HosstonVivian: 7 residents work here (10%)Bossier City: 10 residents work here (14%)Baton Rouge: 2 residents work here (3%)Shreveport: 19 residents work here (27%)ShreveportBossier CityVivianBelcherOil CityBentonIda
1
Shreveport37.3 mi away
27%19
2
Bossier City35.7 mi away
14%10
3
Vivian10.3 mi away
10%7
4
Belcher17.4 mi away
3%2
5
Oil City18.1 mi away
3%2
6
Benton23.2 mi away
3%2
7
Baton Rouge240 mi away
3%2
8
Fouke, AR18.2 mi away
1%1
9
Ida (in town)right here
1%1
10
Gilliam12.2 mi away
1%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
33%23
The top trips

Where Ida clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

Mostly health care, schools and offices in Ida

Jobs based in IdaJobs Ida residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%29%
Trade, transport & utilities0%19%
Services: health, schools, offices100%53%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less36%13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month14%30%
Over $3,333 a month50%57%

Who does it

29 or younger14%29%
30 to 5429%44%
55 and older57%27%
+40%

Jobs based in Ida, 2013 → 2023: 10 → 14. 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 Ida’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

From Ida, about 39 minutes to the job

A year of commuting
297 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.4 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Ida39 min
Louisiana26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
0%

of Ida workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Ida gets to work
94%Drive alone
6%Carpool

Share of the 81 commuters (the 0% 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.

How far

How far Ida’s workers travel

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miShreveport: 27% · 37.3 miBossier City: 14% · 35.7 miVivian: 10% · 10.3 miBelcher: 3% · 17.4 miOil City: 3% · 18.1 miBenton: 3% · 23.2 miBaton Rouge: 3% · 240 miFouke: 1% · 18.2 miGilliam: 1% · 12.2 miShreveport 27%Bossier City 14%Vivian 10%Belcher 3%Oil City 3%Ida
IdaTop destinations (size = commuters)
4%Under 10 mi3 residents
28%10–24 mi19 residents
53%25–50 mi36 residents
15%Over 50 mi10 residents

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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Ida: questions

What is the median household income in Ida?

$59,063 (±$21,444) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Ida?

12.6%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Ida?

39 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Ida work?

1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Shreveport (27%, 37 mi), Bossier City (14%, 36 mi), Vivian (10%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Ida without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Ida, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Ida

Ida home →

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.