Work & commute · Oberlin

Work & commute in Oberlin, LA

Most working residents leave Oberlin for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are Lake Charles (8%), Oakdale (8%) and Alexandria (3%). Half commute less than 38 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12%

54 of 449 working residents

Typical commute

38 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 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 395 Oberlin residents head out of town to work, 54 work right here, and 894 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Oberlin.

395live here, work elsewhere

54live and work here

894work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Oberlin goes to work

Oberlin (in town)right here

12%54

Lake Charles38.4 mi away

8%37

Oakdale16 mi away

8%35

Alexandria50.7 mi away

3%14

Baton Rouge98.5 mi away

3%13

Lafayette52.4 mi away

3%12

Kinder9.8 mi away

2%9

Houston, TX166.1 mi away

2%8

DeRidder35 mi away

2%7

Shreveport141.7 mi away

1%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

57%254

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

How far

How far Oberlin commutes

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

23%

20%

23%

34%

23%Under 10 mi

20%10–24 mi

23%25–50 mi

34%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Oberlin is a job hub

2.11jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Oberlin are

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

Jobs based in Oberlin

948 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities2%

Services (health, schools, offices…)98%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Oberlin residents hold

449 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month47%

−16%

Jobs based in Oberlin, 2013 → 2023: 1,126 → 948. 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.