First National Bank · Photo: Z28scrambler · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in New Roads (10.0%) than in 94% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in New Roads; the top destination outside it is Baton Rouge (15%, 26 miles). New Roads grades D for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Measured by household income, New Roads is behind 86% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in New Roads, in a few figures
New Roads is where the jobs are
New Roads has 2,754 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
New Roads’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside New Roads is Baton Rouge, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (273) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
Jobs & income in New Roads: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, New Roads is better than 8% of U.S. towns, #131 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds New Roads’ grade up (ahead of 43% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Roads could be anywhere from D− to C.
The daily flow of workers through New Roads
On a workday 1,375 residents head out to work, 399 work right here, and 2,355 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,200 people are in New Roads on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Short hops and long hauls from New Roads
About 18% 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.
Where the people who work in New Roads live
Where New Roads clocks in
15% of workers
3% of workers
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.
Jobs in New Roads: what the 2,754 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Roads, 2013 → 2023: 2,268 → 2,754. 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 New Roads’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes to work from New Roads
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Roads workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,660 commuters (the 3% 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.
For most of New Roads, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, New Roads is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #41 of 161 in Louisiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.9% of 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 1,707 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). 13.6% of New Roads households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of New Roads’ commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,700, and where New Roads sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 296 | Hahnville LA | 3,520 | $101K | 6.7% | 0.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 900 | Greenwood LA | 3,077 | $64K | 3.7% | 1.3% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,322 | Westlake LA | 4,763 | $68K | 12.1% | 0.0% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,679 | Mountain View HI | 3,756 | $69K | 20.9% | 7.7% | 3% | D |
| 3,680 | Ashdown AR | 4,135 | $56K | 20.8% | 10.2% | 21% | D |
| 3,681 | New Roads LA | 4,216 | $51K | 24.6% | 10.0% | 22% | D |
| 3,682 | Alva OK | 4,880 | $41K | 25.9% | 4.9% | 43% | D |
| 3,683 | West Hazleton PA | 5,284 | $34K | 34.9% | 12.4% | 8% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,962 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 New Roads, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
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 New Roads: questions
What is the median household income in New Roads?
$51,328 (±$11,757) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Roads?
24.6%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Roads?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Roads work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baton Rouge (15%, 26 mi), Lafayette (3%, 48 mi), Zachary (2%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is New Roads walkable?
New Roads is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Roads without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New Roads, from the people who make the trip.
More of New Roads
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.