Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY 2.0At 6.6%, unemployment in Kenner is higher than in 79% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.1 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 18.8 in New Orleans. The two grades for Kenner are C+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Working residents average 25 minutes each way, about the same as across Louisiana.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Kenner stands out on work
Kenner trades workers with the towns around it
Kenner has about as many jobs (24,805) as working residents (23,492), but they are mostly different people: 19,616 residents leave for work each day while 20,929 people come in. Only 16% of the jobs in Kenner are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Kenner and New Orleans trade workers both ways
New Orleans is the top workplace for Kenner residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Kenner come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
Inside Kenner’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kenner is better than 38% of U.S. towns, #58 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds Kenner’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Kenner could be anywhere from C to B−.
How many people are in Kenner by day
On a workday 19,616 residents head out to work, 3,876 work right here, and 20,929 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 (1.06 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.
22% of working residents work in New Orleans
Where Kenner clocks in
22% of workers
20% of workers
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.
The kinds of work in Kenner
24,805 jobs are based in Kenner.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kenner, 2013 → 2023: 21,636 → 24,805. 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 Kenner’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Kenner: about 25 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kenner workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 28,560 commuters (the 5% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Kenner
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Kenner
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kenner is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #26 of 161 in Louisiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.3% across Louisiana.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 29,955 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 91% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 22% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% 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). 8.3% of Kenner households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Kenner’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Kenner is 530th among 661 U.S. towns of 46,000 to 88,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 528 | Texas City TX | 59,733 | $69K | 16.2% | 6.5% | 17% | C+ |
| 529 | Gastonia NC | 87,067 | $64K | 16.3% | 5.7% | 23% | C+ |
| 530 | Kenner LA | 65,136 | $64K | 15.4% | 6.6% | 16% | C+ |
| 531 | Lafayette IN | 71,238 | $54K | 17.8% | 3.6% | 51% | C+ |
| 532 | Kiryas Joel NY | 47,147 | $50K | 37.6% | 2.2% | 41% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 609 | Bossier City LA | 63,259 | $56K | 20.8% | 6.5% | 26% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 614 | Lake Charles LA | 82,676 | $59K | 23.3% | 6.6% | 54% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 659 | Monroe LA | 46,860 | $41K | 35.9% | 10.2% | 52% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 661 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 28% | 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 Kenner, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
22% of Kenner works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Metairie (20%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kenner workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenner | – | C+ | A− | 25 min | $64,020 |
| Metairie | 20% | B | A− | 22 min | $73,042 |
| St. Rose | 2% | B− | B+ | 25 min | $74,075 |
| River Ridge | under 2% | A− | B− | 26 min | $84,336 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Kenner’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 Kenner: questions
What is the median household income in Kenner?
$64,020 (±$3,799) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kenner?
15.4%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kenner?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kenner work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Orleans (22%, 19 mi), Metairie (20%, 5 mi), Elmwood (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kenner walkable?
Kenner is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 13.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kenner without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 22% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kenner, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kenner
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.