Photo: ScienceQuiz · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Laplace (10.1%) is higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 33 minutes each way, next to 26 for Louisiana and 26 for the U.S. For jobs and income Laplace is better than 33% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (B−). About one in ten work in Laplace; the top destination outside it is New Orleans (13%, 32 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Laplace at work: what stands out
Laplace’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Laplace is New Orleans, 33 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (1,425) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Laplace workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 26 across Louisiana. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Laplace draws workers from far and wide
The 6,808 jobs in Laplace are filled from a wide area. Laplace’s own residents hold 20% and the ten next-biggest home towns 23%; the other 57% come from many towns beyond those. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Laplace
Job access by car holds Laplace’s grade up (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Laplace could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Laplace
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.
Each way, about 33 minutes from Laplace
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Laplace workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,610 commuters (the 8% 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.
Out of Laplace to work: where people go
Where Laplace clocks in
13% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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.
Who works in Laplace, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 10,006 residents head out to work, 1,360 work right here, and 5,448 people come in from elsewhere.
About 24,000 people are in Laplace on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.60 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
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 6,808 jobs based in Laplace
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Laplace, 2013 → 2023: 6,987 → 6,808. 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 Laplace’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Laplace is a driving town
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% 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 11,477 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). 5.7% of Laplace households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Laplace’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 20,000 to 38,000, Laplace ranks 1,162nd of 1,409 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 150 | Prairieville LA | 35,238 | $105K | 4.6% | 2.4% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 295 | Central LA | 30,313 | $90K | 5.4% | 2.2% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 905 | Zachary LA | 20,621 | $84K | 8.5% | 6.9% | 10% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,160 | Van Buren AR | 24,556 | $61K | 15.3% | 5.1% | 23% | C |
| 1,161 | Clinton IA | 24,049 | $60K | 18.5% | 3.7% | 46% | C |
| 1,162 | Laplace LA | 28,343 | $69K | 13.1% | 10.1% | 12% | C |
| 1,163 | Elko NV | 21,019 | $79K | 13.8% | 5.2% | 56% | C |
| 1,164 | McMinnville OR | 34,647 | $74K | 16.0% | 5.5% | 35% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,409 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Laplace, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
Laplace and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Reserve (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Laplace’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 Laplace: questions
What is the median household income in Laplace?
$69,030 (±$10,871) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Laplace?
13.1%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Laplace?
33 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Laplace work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Orleans (13%, 32 mi), Metairie (8%, 19 mi), Kenner (7%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Laplace walkable?
Laplace is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Laplace without a car?
1% 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 Laplace, from the people who make the trip.
More of Laplace
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.