Photo: Z28scrambler · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Patterson (9.5%) is higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Patterson is better than 7% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (B−). Household incomes here are lower than in 88% of U.S. towns. Only 7% stay in Patterson for work; outside it, Morgan City is the main destination (16%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Patterson, in brief
Fewer jobs are based in Patterson than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Patterson fell from 926 in 2013 to 601 in 2023, −35%. 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 ↓
Patterson is a place people come home to
There are 601 jobs based in Patterson, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Patterson has about 4,100 people in it, 26% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
42% of the jobs in Patterson are in trade, transport and utilities, against 25% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Patterson workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 26 across Louisiana. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Patterson
Job access by car holds Patterson’s grade up (ahead of 36% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Patterson could be anywhere from D− to B−.
What the 601 jobs in Patterson are
601 jobs are based in Patterson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Patterson, 2013 → 2023: 926 → 601. 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 Patterson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Patterson by day and by night
On a workday 1,933 residents head out to work, 139 work right here, and 462 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,100 people are in Patterson on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.29 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 trip to work from Patterson: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Patterson workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,855 commuters (the 10% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Patterson
About 32% 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.
The towns that employ Patterson’s residents
Where Patterson clocks in
16% of workers
11% 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.
For most of Patterson, work means a drive
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,069 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). 15.4% of Patterson households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Patterson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Patterson sits among U.S. towns of 3,900 to 7,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,017 | Elmwood LA | 6,077 | $89K | 7.7% | 4.8% | 13% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,268 | Westlake LA | 4,763 | $68K | 12.1% | 0.0% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,288 | Red Chute LA | 6,526 | $86K | 7.5% | 4.1% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,307 | Albion MI | 7,474 | $40K | 25.2% | 13.5% | 17% | D |
| 3,308 | Lawrence Township IL | 6,190 | $50K | 14.9% | 8.5% | 19% | D |
| 3,309 | Patterson LA | 5,565 | $50K | 22.9% | 9.5% | 7% | D |
| 3,310 | Nelsonville OH | 4,488 | $50K | 16.6% | 11.6% | 16% | D |
| 3,311 | Kaplan LA | 4,116 | $40K | 35.3% | 8.8% | 12% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,502 | 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 Patterson, 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 Patterson: questions
What is the median household income in Patterson?
$49,886 (±$17,910) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Patterson?
22.9%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Patterson?
31 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Patterson work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Morgan City (16%, 7 mi), Franklin (11%, 14 mi), Bayou Vista (5%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Patterson walkable?
Patterson is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Patterson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Patterson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Patterson
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.