Unemployment in Moss Bluff (1.1%) is lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Moss Bluff is better than 78% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (C−). Household incomes here are higher than in 70% of U.S. towns. The trip to work takes 25 minutes on average, 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
Moss Bluff and work: the main findings
44% of Moss Bluff works in Lake Charles
2,043 working residents, 44%, have their main job in Lake Charles, 7.6 miles away across the town line. That’s 9 times as many as work in Moss Bluff itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Moss Bluff
60% of Moss Bluff residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 34% of the jobs based in Moss Bluff pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Most Moss Bluff residents work close to home
62% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Many jobs in Moss Bluff pay little
27% of the jobs based in Moss Bluff pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 35% 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.
The figures behind Moss Bluff’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment is its strongest input; the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (8.9%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Moss Bluff could be anywhere from B− to A.
44% of working residents work in Lake Charles
Where Moss Bluff clocks in
2% 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 kinds of work in Moss Bluff
1,573 jobs are based in Moss Bluff.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Moss Bluff, 2013 → 2023: 1,341 → 1,573. 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 Moss Bluff’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Moss Bluff’s commute, mile by mile
About 20% 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.
A workday in Moss Bluff: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 4,374 residents head out to work, 223 work right here, and 1,350 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,500 people are in Moss Bluff on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.34 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.
Commuting from Moss Bluff: about 25 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Moss Bluff workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,992 commuters (the 7% 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 in Moss Bluff is mostly behind the wheel
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 5,364 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). 1.0% of Moss Bluff households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Moss Bluff’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,354 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000, Moss Bluff comes 790th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 326 | Belle Chasse LA | 10,934 | $115K | 6.1% | 2.5% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 672 | Mandeville LA | 12,918 | $94K | 7.1% | 2.9% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 788 | Sumner WA | 10,871 | $98K | 4.9% | 5.3% | 10% | A− |
| 789 | Conway FL | 12,928 | $87K | 8.9% | 3.3% | 2% | A− |
| 790 | Moss Bluff LA | 12,482 | $92K | 8.9% | 1.1% | 5% | A− |
| 791 | Pepperell MA | 11,762 | $124K | 8.0% | 3.7% | 7% | A− |
| 792 | La Vista NE | 16,543 | $82K | 7.5% | 3.4% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 863 | River Ridge LA | 13,312 | $84K | 9.7% | 3.3% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Moss Bluff, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
Work next door: 44% of Moss Bluff’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Moss Bluff workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moss Bluff | – | A− | C− | 25 min | $92,036 |
| Lake Charles | 44% | C− | B+ | 17 min | $59,235 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Lake Charles. Darker towns draw more of Moss Bluff’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 Moss Bluff: questions
What is the median household income in Moss Bluff?
$92,036 (±$28,092) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Moss Bluff?
8.9%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Moss Bluff?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Moss Bluff work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lake Charles (44%, 8 mi), Sulphur (5%, 10 mi), Lafayette (2%, 71 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Moss Bluff walkable?
Moss Bluff is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Moss Bluff without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Moss Bluff, from the people who make the trip.
More of Moss Bluff
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.