Work & commute · Central

Work & commute in Central, LA

Most working residents leave Central for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Baton Rouge (36%), Zachary (2%) and New Orleans (2%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

1,355 of 12,637 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 11,282 Central residents head out of town to work, 1,355 work right here, and 4,487 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Central.

11,282live here, work elsewhere

1,355live and work here

4,487work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Central goes to work

Baton Rouge9.9 mi away

36%4,509

Central (in town)right here

11%1,355

Zachary10.6 mi away

2%279

New Orleans74.4 mi away

2%247

Denham Springs7.4 mi away

2%221

Lafayette64 mi away

1%162

Metairie64.3 mi away

1%154

Prairieville17.6 mi away

1%104

Baker7.5 mi away

1%103

Gonzales24.9 mi away

1%79

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%5,424

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

How far

How far Central commutes

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

44%

38%

15%

44%Under 10 mi

38%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Central is a commuter town

0.46jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.46 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Central are

5,842 jobs are based in Central. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Central’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Central

5,842 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Central residents hold

12,637 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+37%

Jobs based in Central, 2013 → 2023: 4,266 → 5,842. 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.