Work & commute · Ruston

Work & commute in Ruston, LA

42% of Ruston’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Monroe (7%), Shreveport (6%) and Grambling (3%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

42%

3,157 of 7,560 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 4,403 Ruston residents head out of town to work, 3,157 work right here, and 10,308 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ruston.

4,403live here, work elsewhere

3,157live and work here

10,308work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ruston goes to work

Ruston (in town)right here

42%3,157

Monroe32.5 mi away

7%519

Shreveport67.6 mi away

6%453

Grambling4.3 mi away

3%226

West Monroe28.2 mi away

3%200

Bossier City59.4 mi away

2%155

Arcadia16.7 mi away

2%149

Baton Rouge169.5 mi away

1%110

Alexandria86.2 mi away

1%105

Jonesboro21.2 mi away

1%76

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%2,410

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

How far

How far Ruston commutes

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

50%

15%

27%

50%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ruston is a job hub

1.78jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Ruston are

13,465 jobs are based in Ruston. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ruston’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ruston

13,465 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Ruston residents hold

7,560 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month45%

+7%

Jobs based in Ruston, 2013 → 2023: 12,634 → 13,465. 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.