Work & commute · Ponchatoula

Work & commute in Ponchatoula, LA

Most working residents leave Ponchatoula for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Hammond (22%), Amite City (6%) and Baton Rouge (5%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

202 of 3,117 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

33 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 2,915 Ponchatoula residents head out of town to work, 202 work right here, and 3,040 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ponchatoula.

2,915live here, work elsewhere

202live and work here

3,040work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ponchatoula goes to work

Hammond4.6 mi away

22%682

Ponchatoula (in town)right here

6%202

Amite City20.6 mi away

6%194

Baton Rouge41 mi away

5%159

New Orleans40.5 mi away

4%114

Metairie34.5 mi away

3%79

Covington19.9 mi away

2%71

Mandeville20.6 mi away

2%62

Elmwood36.9 mi away

1%41

Livingston18.5 mi away

1%30

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%1,483

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

How far

How far Ponchatoula commutes

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

36%

22%

32%

36%Under 10 mi

22%10–24 mi

32%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ponchatoula is balanced between jobs and homes

1.04jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ponchatoula are

3,242 jobs are based in Ponchatoula. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ponchatoula’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ponchatoula

3,242 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities28%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month43%

Over $3,333 a month35%

Jobs Ponchatoula residents hold

3,117 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+36%

Jobs based in Ponchatoula, 2013 → 2023: 2,392 → 3,242. 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.