Photo: Robert Jones · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Watson are higher than in 74% of U.S. towns
Only 2% stay in Watson for work; outside it, Baton Rouge is the main destination (26%, 14 miles). 17.2% of residents live below the poverty line; Louisiana has 18.9%. The two grades for Watson are B for jobs and income and C− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Watson: the figures worth knowing
The better-paid jobs are outside Watson
65% of Watson residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 22% of the jobs based in Watson pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Watson pay little
42% of the jobs based in Watson pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 45% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
58% of the jobs in Watson are in trade, transport and utilities, against 21% 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 460 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Watson’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Watson is better than 60% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Watson’s grade up ($96,780, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on job access by car.
Unemployment (3.0%) is left out: Watson’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Watson could be anywhere from C− to A+.
What the 396 jobs in Watson are
396 jobs are based in Watson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Watson, 2013 → 2023: 239 → 396. 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 Watson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Watson
On a workday 450 residents head out to work, 10 work right here, and 386 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 (0.86 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.
Where people from Watson work
Where Watson clocks in
26% of workers
7% of workers
4% 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.
How long Watson spends getting to work: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Watson workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 428 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.
How far Watson goes to work
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.
In Watson, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Watson is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns. 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 471 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). 0.0% of Watson households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Watson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Watson is 1,368th among 5,400 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 314 | Paulina LA | 1,785 | $89K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 490 | Sorrento LA | 1,622 | $118K | 8.5% | 3.2% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 513 | Cade LA | 1,710 | $73K | 6.0% | 1.5% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,366 | Antigo WI | 1,380 | $96K | 5.5% | 1.1% | 5% | B |
| 1,367 | Berry College GA | 1,647 | — | 0.0% | 7.2% | 0% | B |
| 1,368 | Watson LA | 1,357 | $97K | 17.2% | 3.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,369 | Lamar TX | 1,202 | $87K | 4.8% | 1.9% | 3% | B |
| 1,370 | Duluth WA | 1,656 | $92K | 14.6% | 0.0% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Watson, 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 Watson: questions
What is the median household income in Watson?
$96,780 (±$61,480) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Watson?
17.2%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Watson?
30 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Watson work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baton Rouge (26%, 14 mi), Livingston (7%, 13 mi), Denham Springs (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Watson walkable?
Watson is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Watson 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 Watson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Watson
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.