Photo: DwayneP · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Independence trail those of 96% of U.S. towns
Independence grades D− for jobs and income and C for walkability. <1% of workers have no commute at all, where Louisiana as a whole has 8%. 31.0% of residents are in poverty, next to 18.9% for Louisiana as a whole. Measured by household income, Independence is behind 96% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Independence
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Independence is better than 5% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Independence’s grade up (ahead of 43% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (14.2%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Independence could be anywhere from D− to C.
Who leaves Independence for work, and who comes in
On a workday 636 residents head out to work, 26 work right here, and 737 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.15 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
15% of working residents work in Hammond
Where Independence clocks in
15% of workers
11% of workers
8% 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 763 jobs based in Independence
763 jobs are based in Independence.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Independence, 2013 → 2023: 791 → 763. 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 Independence’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Independence: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Independence workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 868 commuters (the <1% 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.
Independence’s commute, mile by mile
About 18% 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.
In Independence, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Independence is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Independence 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 871 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). 6.0% of Independence households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Independence’s commuters take a bus or train.
Independence next to U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Bayou Gauche LA | 1,908 | $163K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 235 | Montz LA | 2,074 | $92K | 4.7% | 0.2% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 348 | Presquille LA | 2,062 | $112K | 1.1% | 14.9% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,912 | Collinsville AL | 2,121 | $32K | 26.0% | 2.2% | 8% | D− |
| 4,913 | Guin AL | 2,136 | $51K | 18.3% | 11.2% | 18% | D− |
| 4,914 | Independence LA | 1,665 | $40K | 31.0% | 14.2% | 4% | D− |
| 4,915 | Wheaton MN | 1,330 | $46K | 15.4% | 3.1% | 37% | D− |
| 4,916 | Maxton NC | 2,149 | $23K | 42.7% | 9.5% | 3% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,381 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Independence, 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 Independence: questions
What is the median household income in Independence?
$40,268 (±$14,131) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Independence?
31.0%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Independence?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. <1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Independence work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hammond (15%, 10 mi), Amite City (11%, 7 mi), Baton Rouge (8%, 40 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Independence walkable?
Independence is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Independence 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 Independence, from the people who make the trip.
More of Independence
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.