Photo: Infrogmation · CC BY 2.5A job hub: Jefferson has 3.3 jobs per working resident, and 14,714 people come in to work
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 18.8 in New Orleans. There are 15,130 jobs in Jefferson for 4,655 working residents. Jefferson grades B for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Jefferson apart
Jefferson fills up on a workday
Jefferson has 15,130 jobs, 3.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 20,000 people are in town, more than double the 9,700 who live here. Day and night ↓
Most Jefferson residents work close to home
80% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
A lot of Jefferson works one town over
42% of working residents work in a town that borders Jefferson: New Orleans (33%) and Elmwood (9%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Jefferson are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 26 across Louisiana. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Louisiana worker. Time on the road ↓
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 Jefferson earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Jefferson is better than 55% of U.S. towns, #32 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds Jefferson’s grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($57,235, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Jefferson could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
The daily commute in and out of Jefferson
On a workday 4,239 residents head out to work and 416 work right here.
About 20,000 people are in Jefferson on a workday afternoon, 108% 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.
How far Jefferson’s workers travel
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.
Commuting from Jefferson: about 20 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jefferson workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,529 commuters (the 14% 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.
Where Jefferson’s workers come from
Where Jefferson clocks in
33% of workers
16% of workers
9% 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.
Most jobs in Jefferson are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jefferson, 2013 → 2023: 13,228 → 15,130. 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 Jefferson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Jefferson is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Jefferson is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #4 of 161 in Louisiana. Both inputs place Jefferson 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 5,243 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 28% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% 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). 11.2% of Jefferson households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Jefferson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 6,800 to 13,100, Jefferson ranks 1,520th of 2,780 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 184 | Addis LA | 7,679 | $108K | 3.2% | 1.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 356 | Belle Chasse LA | 10,934 | $115K | 6.1% | 2.5% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 731 | Mandeville LA | 12,918 | $94K | 7.1% | 2.9% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,518 | Sebastopol CA | 7,532 | $88K | 8.7% | 6.0% | 11% | B |
| 1,519 | Alvarado TX | 7,539 | $81K | 13.5% | 5.0% | 8% | B |
| 1,520 | Jefferson LA | 9,703 | $57K | 16.5% | 2.7% | 9% | B |
| 1,521 | Celina OH | 10,936 | $63K | 11.4% | 1.4% | 26% | B− |
| 1,522 | Halfway MD | 10,849 | $71K | 10.5% | 4.0% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,780 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Jefferson, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
42% of Jefferson works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to New Orleans (33%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Jefferson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson | – | B | A | 20 min | $57,235 |
| Elmwood | 9% | B+ | B+ | 18 min | $89,430 |
| New Orleans | 33% | C | A+ | 23 min | $56,631 |
| Bridge City | under 2% | C− | B+ | 24 min | $57,031 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Jefferson’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 Jefferson: questions
What is the median household income in Jefferson?
$57,235 (±$4,942) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jefferson?
16.5%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jefferson?
20 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jefferson work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Orleans (33%, 15 mi), Metairie (16%, 3 mi), Elmwood (9%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jefferson walkable?
Jefferson is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.0 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jefferson without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jefferson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jefferson
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.