Mathews’ household incomes are higher than in 64% of U.S. towns
Only 4% stay in Mathews for work; outside it, Thibodaux is the main destination (12%, 17 miles). Poverty touches 6.0% of residents (Louisiana 18.9%). For jobs and income Mathews is better than 70% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (C−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Mathews at work: what stands out
The better-paid jobs are outside Mathews
64% of Mathews residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 26% of the jobs based in Mathews pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Mathews workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 26 across Louisiana. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Mathews pay little
26% of the jobs based in Mathews pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 32% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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.
How Mathews earns its Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 52% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
Unemployment (1.6%) is left out: Mathews’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Mathews could be anywhere from C to A.
What work there is in Mathews: 813 jobs
813 jobs are based in Mathews.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mathews, 2013 → 2023: 870 → 813. 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 Mathews’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Mathews’ commute takes about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mathews workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 674 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.
A workday in Mathews: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,009 residents head out to work, 37 work right here, and 776 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Mathews on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.78 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.
Where Mathews’ working residents head each day
Where Mathews clocks in
12% of workers
5% 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.
Half of Mathews commutes less than 18 miles
About 17% 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.
Driving is how Mathews gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 733 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). 6.3% of Mathews households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Mathews’ commuters take a bus or train.
1,151st of 6,161: where Mathews ranks among U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Bayou Gauche LA | 1,908 | $163K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 265 | Montz LA | 2,074 | $92K | 4.7% | 0.2% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 387 | Presquille LA | 2,062 | $112K | 1.1% | 14.9% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,149 | Monroe Township IN | 1,163 | $108K | 4.7% | 1.7% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,150 | Hayes Township MI | 2,012 | $82K | 2.4% | 2.0% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,151 | Mathews LA | 1,598 | $87K | 6.0% | 1.6% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,152 | Unionville TN | 1,275 | $71K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,153 | Barrackville WV | 1,196 | $79K | 4.1% | 3.7% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6,161 | 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 Mathews, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
The towns around Mathews
The biggest share goes to Raceland (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mathews workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathews | – | B+ | C− | 37 min | $86,607 |
| Raceland | 3% | C | C+ | 28 min | $60,286 |
| Lockport Heights | under 2% | A− | C− | 29 min | $125,654 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Mathews’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 Mathews: questions
What is the median household income in Mathews?
$86,607 (±$44,922) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mathews?
6.0%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mathews?
37 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mathews work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Thibodaux (12%, 17 mi), Bayou Cane (5%, 12 mi), New Orleans (5%, 45 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mathews walkable?
Mathews is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mathews 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 Mathews, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mathews
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.