Roanoke has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Hardly any stay in Roanoke for work; outside it, Lake Charles is the main destination (18%, 28 miles). Roanoke has 13 jobs, and 177 of its residents work somewhere. Home is the office for 0% of workers, where Louisiana as a whole has 8%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Roanoke
On a workday 177 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 13 people come in from elsewhere.
About 320 people are in Roanoke on a workday afternoon, 34% 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.
Where the trip to work from Roanoke ends
Where Roanoke clocks in
14% of workers
10% 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.
Most jobs in Roanoke are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Roanoke, 2013 → 2023: 12 → 13. 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 Roanoke’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Roanoke
of Roanoke workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 130 commuters (the 0% 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 from Roanoke, by distance
About 23% 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 Roanoke: questions
What is the poverty rate in Roanoke?
6.6%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Roanoke work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lake Charles (18%, 28 mi), Jennings (14%, 5 mi), Welsh (10%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Roanoke without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Roanoke, from the people who make the trip.
More of Roanoke
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.