Dr. William E. Reid House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Leesville’s household incomes are lower than in 97% of U.S. towns
About one in four stay in Leesville for work; outside it, DeRidder is the main destination (5%, 20 miles). The poverty rate is 33.7%, against 18.9% across Louisiana. Leesville grades D− for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Leesville: the gist
Leesville is where the jobs are
Leesville has 5,151 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 8,300 people are in town, 59% more than the 5,200 who live here. Day and night ↓
Leesville draws workers from far and wide
The 5,151 jobs in Leesville are filled from a wide area. Leesville’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 15%; the other 74% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Leesville are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 26 across Louisiana. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Louisiana worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
37% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Fewer than half of Leesville workers earn over $40,000 a year
43% of Leesville’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 20% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
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.
The figures behind Leesville’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Leesville is better than 3% of U.S. towns, #150 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds Leesville’s grade up (ahead of 28% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Leesville could be anywhere from D− to D.
Leesville on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,504 residents head out to work, 590 work right here, and 4,561 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,300 people are in Leesville on a workday afternoon, 59% more than live here.
2.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where Leesville’s workers come from
Where Leesville clocks in
4% 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 daily trip from Leesville: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Leesville workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,106 commuters (the 4% 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.
The commute from Leesville, by distance
About 37% 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.
What the 5,151 jobs in Leesville are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Leesville, 2013 → 2023: 5,300 → 5,151. 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 Leesville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute in Leesville is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Leesville is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns, #88 of 161 in Louisiana. Both inputs place Leesville 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 2,197 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). 14.7% of Leesville households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Leesville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Leesville and other U.S. towns of 3,600 to 7,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,061 | Elmwood LA | 6,077 | $89K | 7.7% | 4.8% | 13% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,328 | Westlake LA | 4,763 | $68K | 12.1% | 0.0% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,351 | Red Chute LA | 6,526 | $86K | 7.5% | 4.1% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,636 | Mount Pleasant Township MO | 5,093 | $43K | 23.9% | 9.2% | 32% | D− |
| 3,637 | Ainaloa HI | 4,094 | $59K | 26.7% | 17.8% | 0% | D− |
| 3,638 | Leesville LA | 5,210 | $38K | 33.7% | 9.8% | 28% | D− |
| 3,639 | Barnwell SC | 4,619 | $52K | 23.9% | 13.8% | 17% | D− |
| 3,640 | Gouverneur NY | 6,414 | $44K | 21.4% | 7.9% | 32% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,696 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Leesville, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
Leesville and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to New Llano (1%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Leesville’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 Leesville: questions
What is the median household income in Leesville?
$37,500 (±$8,614) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Leesville?
33.7%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Leesville?
19 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Leesville work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are DeRidder (5%, 20 mi), Alexandria (4%, 49 mi), Lake Charles (4%, 65 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Leesville walkable?
Leesville is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Leesville without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Leesville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Leesville
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.