At 6.8%, unemployment in Walker is higher than in 81% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Walker are B− for jobs and income and C for walkability. Only 6% stay in Walker for work; outside it, Baton Rouge is the main destination (25%, 16 miles). Working residents average 26 minutes each way, about the same as across Louisiana.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Walker, in a few figures
Walker trades workers with the towns around it
Walker has about as many jobs (2,910) as working residents (2,798), but they are mostly different people: 2,636 residents leave for work each day while 2,748 people come in. Only 6% of the jobs in Walker are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Walker has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Walker went from 1,773 in 2013 to 2,910 in 2023, +64%. The jobs ↓
Walker and Baton Rouge trade workers both ways
Baton Rouge is the top workplace for Walker residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Walker come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Walker
59% of Walker residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 39% of the jobs based in Walker pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Walker pay little
26% of the jobs based in Walker pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 38% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Walker earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Walker is better than 46% of U.S. towns, #48 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds Walker’s grade up (ahead of 76% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Walker could be anywhere from C− to A.
The workday shuffle in and out of Walker
On a workday 2,636 residents head out to work, 162 work right here, and 2,748 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Jobs in Walker: what the 2,910 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Walker, 2013 → 2023: 1,773 → 2,910. 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 Walker’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where people from Walker work
Where Walker clocks in
25% of workers
6% 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.
About 26 minutes each way, about the LA average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Walker workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,467 commuters (the 9% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Walker
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.
For most of Walker, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Walker is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns, #123 of 161 in Louisiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 2,699 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). 1.7% of Walker households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Walker’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Walker ranks: 1,970th of 3,306 U.S. towns of 4,500 to 8,700
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 173 | Addis LA | 7,679 | $108K | 3.2% | 1.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,001 | Elmwood LA | 6,077 | $89K | 7.7% | 4.8% | 13% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,254 | Westlake LA | 4,763 | $68K | 12.1% | 0.0% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,968 | Ketchikan AK | 7,939 | $85K | 11.2% | 4.0% | — | B− |
| 1,969 | Wilmington IL | 5,614 | $66K | 11.5% | 4.7% | 10% | B− |
| 1,970 | Walker LA | 6,476 | $81K | 12.5% | 6.8% | 6% | B− |
| 1,971 | Abilene KS | 6,552 | $58K | 6.8% | 3.2% | 37% | B− |
| 1,972 | York NE | 8,284 | $63K | 11.5% | 1.7% | 47% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,306 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Walker, 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 Walker: questions
What is the median household income in Walker?
$80,707 (±$22,174) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Walker?
12.5%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Walker?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Walker work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baton Rouge (25%, 16 mi), Livingston (6%, 7 mi), Denham Springs (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Walker walkable?
Walker is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Walker without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Walker, from the people who make the trip.
More of Walker
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.