Making a living in Mermentau
Only 2% stay in Mermentau for work; outside it, Crowley is the main destination (16%, 13 miles). Working from home is the commute for 0% of workers; Louisiana has 8%. A typical one-way commute lasts 19 minutes, where Louisiana has 26 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves Mermentau for work, and who comes in
On a workday 174 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 102 people come in from elsewhere.
About 420 people are in Mermentau on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.59 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 towns that employ Mermentau’s residents
Where Mermentau clocks in
16% of workers
12% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 49% of the jobs in Mermentau
105 jobs are based in Mermentau.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mermentau, 2013 → 2023: 187 → 105. 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 Mermentau’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 19 minutes in Mermentau
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mermentau workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 118 commuters (the 0% 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.
How far it is to work from Mermentau
About 31% 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 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 Mermentau: questions
What is the median household income in Mermentau?
$117,764 (±$101,037) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mermentau?
20.4%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mermentau?
19 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mermentau work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Crowley (16%, 13 mi), Lafayette (12%, 33 mi), Jennings (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Mermentau 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 Mermentau, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mermentau
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.