Good Pine Lumber Company Building · Photo: Jonathan Fricker · Public domainJobs and earnings in Midway, and the trip to work
Only 3% stay in Midway for work; outside it, Jena is the main destination (26%, 2 miles). There are 246 jobs in Midway for 318 working residents. 5% of workers have no commute at all, where Louisiana as a whole has 8%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Midway: the gist
A lot of Midway works one town over
32% of working residents work in a town that borders Midway: Jena (26%) and Good Pine (6%). Next door ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Midway than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Midway fell from 574 in 2013 to 246 in 2023, −57%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% 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 ↓
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; with 318 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Midway works in goods: 47% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Midway, 2013 → 2023: 574 → 246. 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 Midway’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Midway
About 34% 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.
Who leaves Midway for work, and who comes in
On a workday 308 residents head out to work, 10 work right here, and 236 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 (0.77 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 Midway’s working residents head each day
Where Midway clocks in
26% 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.
Working from home in Midway
of Midway workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 398 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.
32% of Midway works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Jena. Darker towns draw more of Midway’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 Midway: questions
What is the median household income in Midway?
$25,590 (±$21,727) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Midway?
37.5%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Midway work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jena (26%, 2 mi), Good Pine (6%, 2 mi), Alexandria (6%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Midway without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 23% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Midway, from the people who make the trip.
More of Midway
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.