Photo: George Bannister · CC BY 2.0Unemployment in New Orleans (7.5%) is higher than in 86% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 15% of workers (Louisiana 8%). Household incomes here are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns. More than half stay in New Orleans for work; outside it, Metairie is the main destination (9%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for New Orleans
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, New Orleans is better than 27% of U.S. towns, #78 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds New Orleans’ grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (22.6%, U.S. 12.5%).
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Orleans stays C.
Who leaves New Orleans for work, and who comes in
On a workday 59,635 residents head out to work, 75,835 work right here, and 96,747 people come in from elsewhere.
About 399,000 people are in New Orleans on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from New Orleans ends
Where New Orleans clocks in
9% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in New Orleans
172,582 jobs are based in New Orleans.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Orleans, 2014 → 2024: 171,116 → 172,582. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs New Orleans’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 23 minutes to work from New Orleans
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Orleans workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 142,761 commuters (the 15% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from New Orleans
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
New Orleans is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 167,719 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 99% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 71% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 18.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 98% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 17.4% of New Orleans households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of New Orleans’ commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
New Orleans next to U.S. towns of 254,000 to 489,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oyster Bay NY | 301,115 | $160K | 3.9% | 4.6% | 19% | A |
| 2 | Gilbert AZ | 287,285 | $123K | 5.3% | 3.5% | 15% | A |
| 3 | Plano TX | 293,028 | $112K | 6.8% | 4.0% | 22% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Tulsa OK | 416,209 | $60K | 18.7% | 6.1% | 61% | C |
| 47 | Laredo TX | 269,515 | $64K | 20.9% | 5.4% | 75% | C |
| 48 | New Orleans LA | 362,154 | $57K | 22.6% | 7.5% | 56% | C |
| 49 | Cincinnati OH | 314,367 | $53K | 25.5% | 6.8% | 42% | C− |
| 50 | Newark NJ | 323,808 | $52K | 23.4% | 11.6% | 25% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Cleveland OH | 363,608 | $41K | 30.6% | 10.8% | 42% | C− |
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 New Orleans, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
Work next door: 16% of New Orleans’ workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | New Orleans workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans | – | C | A+ | 23 min | $56,631 |
| Gretna | 1% | C− | A | 25 min | $43,110 |
| Meraux | under 1% | B | B− | 33 min | $76,021 |
| Marrero | 2% | C− | B | 23 min | $41,402 |
| Terrytown | under 1% | C | B+ | 27 min | $51,718 |
| Metairie | 9% | B | A− | 22 min | $73,042 |
| Chalmette | 1% | C− | A− | 29 min | $54,904 |
| Arabi | under 1% | C− | A− | 28 min | $56,813 |
| Jefferson | 3% | B | A | 20 min | $57,235 |
| Violet | under 1% | C− | C+ | 35 min | $51,038 |
| Poydras | under 1% | C | C+ | 40 min | $59,105 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Metairie. Darker towns draw more of New Orleans’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 2024, 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 New Orleans: questions
What is the median household income in New Orleans?
$56,631 (±$1,781) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Orleans?
22.6%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Orleans?
23 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Orleans work?
56% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Metairie (9%, 15 mi), Elmwood (3%, 17 mi), Baton Rouge (3%, 76 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is New Orleans walkable?
New Orleans is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.7 out of 20, and 14% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Orleans without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. 71% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New Orleans, from the people who make the trip.
More of New Orleans
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.