Work & commute · Gretna

Work & commute in Gretna, LA

Most working residents leave Gretna for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are New Orleans (30%), Metairie (9%) and Harvey (5%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

632 of 6,261 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 5,629 Gretna residents head out of town to work, 632 work right here, and 9,303 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Gretna.

5,629live here, work elsewhere

632live and work here

9,303work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Gretna goes to work

New Orleans12.1 mi away

30%1,887

Gretna (in town)right here

10%632

Metairie9.6 mi away

9%573

Harvey1.7 mi away

5%336

Marrero4.1 mi away

4%265

Elmwood8.7 mi away

4%234

Baton Rouge74.2 mi away

3%170

Kenner14 mi away

3%160

Belle Chasse4.6 mi away

2%155

Jefferson7.1 mi away

2%145

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%1,704

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

How far

How far Gretna commutes

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

73%

12%

73%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Gretna is a job hub

1.59jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Gretna are

9,935 jobs are based in Gretna. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Gretna’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Gretna

9,935 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Gretna residents hold

6,261 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month52%

−2%

Jobs based in Gretna, 2013 → 2023: 10,169 → 9,935. 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.