Ridgecrest has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Hardly any stay in Ridgecrest for work; outside it, Natchez is the main destination (21%, 10 miles). Ridgecrest has 33 jobs, against 178 working residents. Commuters spend 20 minutes getting to work on average; the Louisiana average is 26, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Ridgecrest: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 177 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 32 people come in from elsewhere.
About 390 people are in Ridgecrest on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Ridgecrest to work: where people go
Where Ridgecrest clocks in
9% 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.
Goods, not services: 30% of the jobs in Ridgecrest
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ridgecrest, 2013 → 2023: 24 → 33. 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 Ridgecrest’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 20 minutes in Ridgecrest
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ridgecrest workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 343 commuters (the 4% 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.
Half of Ridgecrest commutes less than 9 miles
About 35% 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.
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 Ridgecrest: questions
What is the median household income in Ridgecrest?
$41,910 (±$7,415) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ridgecrest?
15.7%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ridgecrest?
20 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ridgecrest work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Natchez (21%, 10 mi), Vidalia (9%, 6 mi), Minorca (7%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ridgecrest without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ridgecrest, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ridgecrest
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.