Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY 2.0Terrytown has higher unemployment (8.4%) than 90% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Terrytown is behind 86% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Terrytown C; getting around on foot earns it B+. Only 4% work in Terrytown itself; outside it, New Orleans draws the most (36%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Terrytown and work: the main findings
A lot of Terrytown works one town over
41% of working residents work in a town that borders Terrytown: New Orleans (36%) and Gretna (5%). Next door ↓
Most Terrytown residents work close to home
67% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. 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.
Where Terrytown’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Terrytown is better than 25% of U.S. towns, #86 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds Terrytown’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Terrytown could be anywhere from C− to C+.
Short hops and long hauls from Terrytown
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 daily flow of workers through Terrytown
On a workday 8,029 residents head out to work, 373 work right here, and 3,748 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Terrytown on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.49 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.
Where people from Terrytown work
Where Terrytown clocks in
36% of workers
8% of workers
5% 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.
Inside Terrytown’s 4,121 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Terrytown, 2013 → 2023: 4,115 → 4,121. 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 Terrytown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Terrytown: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Terrytown workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,059 commuters (the 7% 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 Terrytown, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Terrytown is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns, #50 of 161 in Louisiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.3% 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 10,814 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 7% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 68% 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). 9.2% of Terrytown households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Terrytown’s commuters take a bus or train.
Terrytown is 1,428th of 1,642 U.S. towns of 17,000 to 33,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 354 | Central LA | 30,313 | $90K | 5.4% | 2.2% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 375 | Youngsville LA | 19,980 | $106K | 9.1% | 1.2% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,042 | Zachary LA | 20,621 | $84K | 8.5% | 6.9% | 10% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,426 | Oak Ridge FL | 23,364 | $55K | 25.3% | 7.9% | 2% | C |
| 1,427 | Cudahy CA | 21,445 | $57K | 28.7% | 10.1% | 3% | C |
| 1,428 | Terrytown LA | 24,726 | $52K | 19.2% | 8.4% | 4% | C |
| 1,429 | Orange TX | 19,419 | $63K | 15.4% | 7.7% | 19% | C− |
| 1,430 | Windham CT | 24,139 | $56K | 20.7% | 5.8% | 23% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,642 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Terrytown, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
Bordering towns draw 41% of Terrytown’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Terrytown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrytown | – | C | B+ | 27 min | $51,718 |
| New Orleans | 36% | C | A+ | 23 min | $56,631 |
| Gretna | 5% | C− | A | 25 min | $43,110 |
| Belle Chasse | under 3% | A | C+ | 26 min | $115,012 |
| Timberlane | under 3% | C | B+ | 23 min | $65,901 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to New Orleans. Darker towns draw more of Terrytown’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 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 Terrytown: questions
What is the median household income in Terrytown?
$51,718 (±$4,397) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Terrytown?
19.2%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Terrytown?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Terrytown work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Orleans (36%, 12 mi), Metairie (8%, 11 mi), Gretna (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Terrytown walkable?
Terrytown is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Terrytown without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Terrytown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Terrytown
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.