Chauvin House · Photo: Z28scrambler · CC BY-SA 3.0Union has 1.7 jobs for every working resident: 410 people commute in to work
2% of workers work from home, against 8% across Louisiana. There are 414 jobs in Union, and 237 of its residents work somewhere. Only 2% work in Union; the top destination outside it is Lutcher (9%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Union at work: what stands out
Fewer jobs are based in Union than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Union fell from 1,395 in 2013 to 414 in 2023, −70%. 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 ↓
The jobs in Union pay better than its residents’ jobs
81% of the jobs based in Union pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 51% of the jobs Union residents hold. 99% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Union. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
47% of the jobs in Union are in trade, transport and utilities, against 23% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
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; with 237 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Factories, building and farms: 39% of the jobs in Union
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Union, 2013 → 2023: 1,395 → 414. 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 Union’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Union: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 233 residents head out to work and 4 work right here.
About 700 people are in Union on a workday afternoon, 34% more 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 Union’s workers come from
Where Union clocks in
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.
The trip to work from Union: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Union workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 181 commuters (the 2% 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.
How far it is to work from Union
About 16% 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.
Work in the towns next to Union
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Union workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union | – | — | — | 22 min | $71,563 |
| Welcome | under 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Lemannville | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Welcome and Lemannville: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Union’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 Union: questions
What is the median household income in Union?
$71,563 (±$66,207) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Union?
6.1%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Union?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Union work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lutcher (9%, 11 mi), Gonzales (8%, 9 mi), Baton Rouge (5%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Union without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Union, from the people who make the trip.
More of Union
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.