Photo: Jim Plylar · CC BY-SA 3.0At 6.9%, unemployment in Zachary is higher than in 82% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 28 minutes each way (Louisiana 26, U.S. 26). The two grades for Zachary are B− for jobs and income and C− for walkability. About one in ten work in Zachary; the top destination outside it is Baton Rouge (33%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Zachary apart on work
Zachary and Baton Rouge trade workers both ways
Baton Rouge is the top workplace for Zachary residents (33%) and also where the most people who work in Zachary come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Zachary
62% of Zachary residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 40% of the jobs based in Zachary pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 90% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Zachary draws workers from far and wide
The 5,411 jobs in Zachary are filled from a wide area. Zachary’s own residents hold 16% and the ten next-biggest home towns 26%; the other 58% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Zachary
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Zachary is better than 53% of U.S. towns, #33 of 161 in Louisiana. Job access by car holds Zachary’s grade up (ahead of 71% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Zachary could be anywhere from C to A.
Where people from Zachary work
Where Zachary clocks in
33% of workers
2% of workers
2% 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.
Jobs in Zachary: what the 5,411 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Zachary, 2013 → 2023: 6,955 → 5,411. 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 Zachary’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Zachary
On a workday 7,552 residents head out to work, 882 work right here, and 4,529 people come in from elsewhere.
About 18,000 people are in Zachary on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.64 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.
From Zachary, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Zachary workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,567 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Zachary
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.
Driving is how Zachary gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Zachary is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns, #126 of 161 in Louisiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% 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 10,237 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). 5.2% of Zachary households have no vehicle (Louisiana 8.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Zachary’s commuters take a bus or train.
Zachary next to U.S. towns of 14,000 to 28,000: 1,201st of 1,931 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 454 | Youngsville LA | 19,980 | $106K | 9.1% | 1.2% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 861 | Broussard LA | 15,799 | $116K | 13.4% | 3.6% | 12% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,199 | Buford GA | 18,780 | $69K | 12.6% | 4.5% | 12% | B− |
| 1,200 | Garden City KS | 27,402 | $73K | 11.0% | 2.7% | 45% | B− |
| 1,201 | Zachary LA | 20,621 | $84K | 8.5% | 6.9% | 10% | B− |
| 1,202 | Hopkins MN | 19,523 | $75K | 12.1% | 6.4% | 6% | B− |
| 1,203 | Bryn Mawr-Skyway WA | 17,638 | $91K | 13.3% | 7.9% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,403 | Estelle LA | 16,341 | $79K | 17.0% | 7.8% | 2% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,931 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Zachary, the top three, the last and three more from Louisiana.
How Zachary compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Central (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Zachary’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 Zachary: questions
What is the median household income in Zachary?
$84,480 (±$17,522) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Zachary?
8.5%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Zachary?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Zachary work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baton Rouge (33%, 16 mi), St. Francisville (2%, 15 mi), New Orleans (2%, 85 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Zachary walkable?
Zachary is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Zachary without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Zachary, from the people who make the trip.
More of Zachary
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.