Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Louisiana trail those of 97% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 31.7% of residents (Missouri 12.6%). The two grades for Louisiana are D− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. At home: 3% of workers have no commute at all (Missouri 13%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Louisiana, in brief
Louisiana trades workers with the towns around it
Louisiana has about as many jobs (1,140) as working residents (1,336), but they are mostly different people: 999 residents leave for work each day while 803 people come in. Only 30% of the jobs in Louisiana are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Louisiana are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 24 across Missouri. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Missouri worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Louisiana than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Louisiana fell from 1,908 in 2014 to 1,140 in 2024, −40%. 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 ↓
Few Louisiana workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Louisiana’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Louisiana is better than 2% of U.S. towns, #244 of 247 in Missouri. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Louisiana’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Louisiana could be anywhere from D− to C−.
A workday in Louisiana: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 999 residents head out to work, 337 work right here, and 803 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 (0.85 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
About 15 minutes each way for Louisiana’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Louisiana workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,063 commuters (the 3% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 86% 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.
What work there is in Louisiana: 1,140 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Louisiana, 2014 → 2024: 1,908 → 1,140. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Louisiana’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Louisiana’s workers travel
About 33% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
8% of working residents work in Bowling Green
Where Louisiana clocks in
5% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Louisiana
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Louisiana is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #28 of 247 in Missouri. Both inputs place Louisiana near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,100 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). 10.7% of Louisiana households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Louisiana’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Louisiana sits among U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | St. Paul MO | 3,849 | $159K | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | Clarkson Valley MO | 2,540 | $247K | 3.0% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 168 | Frontenac MO | 3,790 | $233K | 2.0% | 4.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,601 | San Joaquin CA | 3,688 | $43K | 41.0% | 19.3% | 5% | D− |
| 4,602 | Macon MS | 2,432 | $32K | 34.7% | 8.5% | 21% | D− |
| 4,603 | Louisiana MO | 3,208 | $39K | 31.7% | 8.6% | 25% | D− |
| 4,604 | Hobart OK | 3,257 | $33K | 30.1% | 7.0% | 40% | D− |
| 4,605 | Wewoka OK | 3,046 | $38K | 28.5% | 11.2% | 26% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Louisiana, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
How Louisiana compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Louisiana workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | – | D− | A− | 15 min | $38,673 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Louisiana’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 2024, 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 Louisiana: questions
What is the median household income in Louisiana?
$38,673 (±$7,255) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Louisiana?
31.7%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Louisiana?
15 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Louisiana work?
25% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bowling Green (8%, 10 mi), Hannibal (5%, 26 mi), O'Fallon (4%, 49 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Louisiana walkable?
Louisiana is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Louisiana without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Louisiana, from the people who make the trip.
More of Louisiana
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.