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Manufacturing Compass

Louisiana manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2024. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Louisiana manufacturing in 2024

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Louisiana combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

4,576

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
397,198
Share of U.S.Calc
1.2%

Employment

140,580

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,733,350
Share of U.S.Calc
1.1%

Total wages

$12.9 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
1.2%

Average weekly wage

$1,771

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,643
vs. U.S.Calc
+7.8%

Average annual pay

$92,106

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$85,461
vs. U.S.Calc
+7.8%

Location quotient

0.89

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Louisiana is 0.89 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first.

  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    28,719
    Establishments
    434
    Avg. annual pay
    $138,831
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +17.5%
    Location quotient
    2.59
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    19,536
    Establishments
    881
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,958
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.1%
    Location quotient
    1.10
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    16,815
    Establishments
    489
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,883
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.0%
    Location quotient
    0.77
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    12,342
    Establishments
    398
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,904
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.7%
    Location quotient
    0.90
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    10,801
    Establishments
    103
    Avg. annual pay
    $154,848
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +9.6%
    Location quotient
    7.91
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    8,587
    Establishments
    204
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,397
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −14.9%
    Location quotient
    0.39
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,924
    Establishments
    192
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,975
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.7%
    Location quotient
    1.55
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    6,265
    Establishments
    57
    Avg. annual pay
    $95,128
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +16.5%
    Location quotient
    1.43
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    5,038
    Establishments
    382
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,182
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −32.9%
    Location quotient
    0.66
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    4,815
    Establishments
    108
    Avg. annual pay
    $82,057
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +18.4%
    Location quotient
    0.54
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    4,451
    Establishments
    270
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,238
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.3%
    Location quotient
    0.86
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    3,125
    Establishments
    50
    Avg. annual pay
    $90,007
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +0.8%
    Location quotient
    0.68
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,844
    Establishments
    97
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,965
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.4%
    Location quotient
    0.69
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    2,630
    Establishments
    353
    Avg. annual pay
    $45,070
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −26.3%
    Location quotient
    0.60
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,203
    Establishments
    134
    Avg. annual pay
    $98,354
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −35.9%
    Location quotient
    0.17
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    1,810
    Establishments
    80
    Avg. annual pay
    $80,349
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.3%
    Location quotient
    0.35
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,154
    Establishments
    191
    Avg. annual pay
    $45,020
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −24.1%
    Location quotient
    0.27
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    805
    Establishments
    87
    Avg. annual pay
    $45,813
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.8%
    Location quotient
    0.67
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    438
    Establishments
    17
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,200
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −0.8%
    Location quotient
    0.42
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    226
    Establishments
    42
    Avg. annual pay
    $47,702
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.7%
    Location quotient
    0.22
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    54
    Establishments
    8
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,919
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.3%
    Location quotient
    0.17

03By year

Louisiana manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Louisiana by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
2022134,378$84,776+6.7%
2023139,240$88,513+7.2%
2024140,580$92,106+7.8%
2025Not disclosedNot disclosed—

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2024 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology