Work & commute · Baton Rouge

Work & commute in Baton Rouge, LA

48% of Baton Rouge’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are New Orleans (3%), Lafayette (2%) and Metairie (1%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

48%

38,659 of 79,916 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 41,257 Baton Rouge residents head out of town to work, 38,659 work right here, and 117,637 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Baton Rouge.

41,257live here, work elsewhere

38,659live and work here

117,637work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Baton Rouge goes to work

Baton Rouge (in town)right here

48%38,659

New Orleans76.3 mi away

3%2,373

Lafayette56 mi away

2%1,289

Metairie64.7 mi away

1%1,176

Prairieville13.6 mi away

1%858

Central9.9 mi away

1%780

Denham Springs10.5 mi away

1%744

Gonzales20.1 mi away

1%653

Zachary15.5 mi away

1%621

Hammond40.5 mi away

1%469

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%32,294

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Baton Rouge commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

69%

11%

17%

69%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Baton Rouge is a job hub

1.96jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Baton Rouge are

156,296 jobs are based in Baton Rouge. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Baton Rouge’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Baton Rouge

156,296 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Baton Rouge residents hold

79,916 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month49%

−3%

Jobs based in Baton Rouge, 2013 → 2023: 161,475 → 156,296. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.