Houma-Terrebonne Community Profile

Welcome to …
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
Growing business
in Bayou Country
Overview
Terrebonne Parish, located deep in Southeast Louisiana, is the epicenter of life in Bayou Country for its estimated 112,000 residents. Its parish seat,
Houma, is the hub of activity for commerce, government services and health care. The
parish draws workforce from a four-parish region comprised of approximately 279,000 people who not only work in the Houma area,
but shop, dine and entertain themselves here as well.
Within an hour’s drive, residents and business representatives can
enjoy all of the amenities of New Orleans’ nightlife, conduct business
in Lafayette, tour plantation homes, charter a fishing boat for offshore excursions and board an international flight.
Houma is located at the intersection of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Houma
Navigational Canal, which is a straight 26-mile access route to the Gulf of Mexico. The
convergence of these two water superhighways is adjacent to the Port of Terrebonne and
nearby the Houma-Terrebonne Airport and Industrial Park, providing companies the opportunity to build vessels and various energy-related components, shipping them out directly from fabrication facilities.
Industry
Business is booming in Terrebonne Parish and for a good reason — our parish has a
diverse group of industries working together to keep the local economy strong. From
oil-and-gas services, to retail, to seafood — Terrebonne has the industry to support
its residents.

Oil and Gas — Louisiana's supply of oil, natural gas and mineral resources has been
a great source of the state's wealth for several decades. As a coastal parish, Terrebonne Parish contributes to Louisiana's hold on the oil and gas industry by offering
a prime location for many oil- and gas-related businesses to flourish. Major oil-andgas corporations are located in the area as well as Terrebonne's seemingly unending list of oil-and-gas service companies.

Metal Fabrication and Machining — Metal fabrication and machining is one of the
largest employment sectors in Terrebonne Parish, manufacturing products for a variety of uses, including for oil-and-gas service companies, and recently, the wind
energy sector.

Shipbuilding and Repair — Several local shipbuilding companies take advantage of
Terrebonne Parish's need for boats to service the offshore petroleum industry.
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Many of them also thrive on the building of government-contracted
military ships.

Marine Services — The marine-services industry thrives primarily
on providing marine-transportation services: tug boat companies that transport barges
stocked with goods, as well as crew and supply-boat companies that transport personnel
and supplies for oil-and-gas companies.

Retail Trade — Houma has long been a hub for retail businesses and activity in the area,
drawing shoppers from several parishes for virtually any sort of product imaginable including automobile parts, clothing, specialty food items, home furnishings, gardening needs and
office supplies.

Medical Services — One of the top employers in the parish, the medical-service industry
continues to grow. Terrebonne General Medical Center (TGMC) and Leonard J. Chabert
Medical Center with those services being complemented by a vast array of other medical
facilities including dentistry, psychiatric care, surgical clinics, chiropractic clinics, ophthalmology offices and smaller specialty hospitals.

Transportation/Distribution — Businesses in Terrebonne Parish benefit from our efficient,
well-planned highway system. US 90, the parish's main transportation artery, curves across
the northern portion of Terrebonne Parish, heads northeast towards New Orleans and
northwest through Assumption Parish toward Interstate Highways 10 and 49. LA 20 lines the
northwestern border of the parish, LA 24 curves around the northeastern portion of Terrebonne through Houma, and LA 56 and LA 57 travel north-south from Houma to the southern
areas of the parish. Improvements continue to ease traffic flow through the commercial areas of the parish, as well.

Seafood — South Terrebonne’s easy access to the deeper waters of the Gulf of Mexico has
helped provide work for local commercial fishermen for decades. The Gulf offers fishermen
a terrific supply of marine life, including crabs, oysters and shrimp and a host of other fish
as well. Parish economic activity generated from commercial fishing has increased with the
ability to process the catch, package it and distribute it.
Market Access
Houma is...
 Centrally located on Gulf Coast
 55 miles to New Orleans
 100 miles to Lafayette
 80 miles to Baton Rouge
 330 miles to Houston
With US 90 crossing the northern sector of the parish, Terrebonne is a central location for those doing business between
New Orleans and Lafayette, and easy access to Port Fourchon
via La. 1. The Louis Armstrong International Airport, less than a
one-hour drive, is the nearest commercial airport and largest in
the state. All major domestic airlines as well as several international carriers serve the airport.
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Port of Terrebonne
 Located 26 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico at the convergence
of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Houma Navigational Canal
 Medium-draft port
 Slip depth 14 feet, slip width 400 feet
 680-acre site with available parcels for lease
 http://www.terrebonneport.com
Houma Navigation Canal (HNC)
 North-south waterway
 Twenty-six mile direct route to the Gulf of Mexico from the Intracoastal Waterway
 Connects the Port of Terrebonne to the Port of Fourchon via the East-West Channel
 Maintained by the Corps of Engineers to a depth of 15 feet (studies ongoing for deepening)
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW)
 East-West inland waterway superhighway
 Passes through Terrebonne Parish
 Connects the Port of Terrebonne and the Houma Navigation Canal to North America and the
world
Houma-Terrebonne Airport
 General aviation airport
 Level 1 FAA, VFR, lighted runways
 FAA tower, open 7 days a week
 NAV Aids
 Six FBOs
 AWOS System
 Two intersecting runways: 6,508’ x 150’
and 5,000’ x 200’
Era Helicopters unveiled its new super base in Houma in June 2015.
 Accommodates aircraft up to 150,000 lbs.
 Southernmost latitude general-aviation airport in the country
 More than 1,800 acres: 800 acres for aircraft maintenance and operations and 1,000 leasable
acreage
 www.houma-airport.com
Did you know?
Thibodaux Municipal Airport
 Located 14 miles northwest of the Houma-Terrebonne Airport
 Runway lights from dusk to dawn
 Runway — 2999’ x 75’
Louis Armstrong International
Airport ranked 79th mostaffordable airport by the Bureau
of Transportation Statistics
in March 2015.
Louis Armstrong International Airport (New Orleans)
 45 minutes drive from Houma (55 miles)
 Most commercial carriers available for arrivals and departures with new flights, destinations
and carriers being added routinely — 11 airlines and 21 non-stop flights since 2010.
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Port Fourchon
 Located near the mouth of Bayou Lafourche in neighboring Lafourche
Parish. Approximately 30 percent of total tonnage travels to and from
the port by inland barge before being transferred to/from an offshore
supply vessel
 70 percent of tonnage travels to and from the port by vehicle before being
transferred to or from an offshore supply vessel or helicopter
 Up to 1200 trucks per day travel in and out of Port Fourchon
 Port Fourchon alone services 90 percent of deepwater structures in the Gulf
of Mexico.
 Depths vary up to 29 feet
LOOP
 Deepwater port in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana’s near Port Fourchon
 Handles 15 percent of the nation's foreign oil, about 1.2 million barrels a day, and connects
by pipeline to 35 percent of the U.S.’s refining capability
Highways & Byways
Terrebonne is connected to the rest of the country by US Highway 90, the future corridor
for Interstate 49. Major highways include:
US 90, I-49 (proposed/under construction)
LA 20, LA 24, LA 56, LA 57
LA 311, LA 315, LA 316, LA 660,
LA 661, LA 3040
Bus Service
 Greyhound serves Houma
 Good Earth Transit provides in-parish service
Passenger Rail Carrier
 Amtrak Station in Schriever (limited service available)
Motor Freight
 Five major freight carriers including: FedEx, UPS,
SAIA and Roadway (FedEx Ground)
Railways
 Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company
In August 2014, Saia Motor Freight celebrated its 90th
anniversary by burying a time capsule in Houma, the
birthplace of the LTL carrier.
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Education & Training Programs
L.E. Fletcher Community College
Offers education and training opportunities in:
 Arts and sciences (criminal justice, general studies)
 Business (accounting, office systems)
 Manufacturing and service technologies (automotive, drafting and design, electrician,
machine tools, electronics, marine diesel engine, residential air conditioning, technical
studies, welding)
 Marine and petroleum (integrated production technologies, marine operations, nautical
science)
 Nursing and allied health (cardiopulmonary care science, emergency medical technician,
nursing, nursing assistant, phlebotomy, practical nursing)
 Fletcher also responds to industry needs, tailoring training programs and curricula to meet
industry labor demands
Nicholls State University
 Located only minutes away in neighboring Lafourche Parish, NSU offers:
 Graduate degrees in the sciences, arts, fine arts and nursing
 Master’s degrees in business administration, clinical mental health counseling, education,
community/technical college mathematics, marine and environmental biology, nursing and
a specialist in school psychology
 NSU also responds to industry needs, i.e. created a maritime management concentration
within its business management curriculum by working with maritime industry
Terrebonne Parish School District
The district, with a 2014 District Performance Letter Grade of “B”, is comprised of:
 19 elementary schools
 6 middle schools
 3 junior-high schools
 5 high schools
Private Schools
 Covenant Christian Academy
 Houma Christian School
 Messiah Montessori School
 St. Matthew’s Episcopal Day School

Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux:
 Maria Immacolata
 St. Bernadette School
 St. Gregory Barbarigo School
 St. Francis De Sales School
 Vandebilt Catholic High School
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Incumbent Worker Training Program
 Designed to benefit Louisiana employers by assisting in the skill
development of existing employees and providing funding assistance
to offset training costs
 Its goal is to create new jobs, retention of at risk jobs, and higher wages for trained employees
 Criteria: a business must have operated in Louisiana and contributed to the state’s unemployment insurance system for a minimum of three years
 An employer or group of employers with similar needs must have at least 15 employees
to be trained
One Stop Career Solutions Center
 Employment office maintained by the Louisiana Department of Labor
 Employers may also use any of the statewide job service offices to conduct a prospective
employee search
Workforce Investment Act (WIA)
 Can provide reimbursement to the employer of up to 75 percent of an employee’s wages
earned during the training period
 Offers placement assistance to employers with job openings
Taxes
Sales Tax
 Louisiana levies a 4 percent sales tax
 Terrebonne Parish levies a parish-wide sales tax of 5.5 percent
Property Tax
 No state property tax in Louisiana
 Terrebonne Parish levies property tax based on the assessed value
of the land and/or the improvements multiplied by a millage determined by the location of the property
 Terrebonne Parish offers a homestead exemption of $75,000 against the value of the residential property
Corporate Income Tax
 Tax ranges from 4 percent to 8 percent of the net taxable income
 When computing the net taxable income, the effective rate is reduced by the deduction of
federal income taxes
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Infrastructure
Electricity Providers
 Entergy
 South Louisiana Electric Cooperative
 Terrebonne Parish Electric Distribution
System
Natural Gas Providers
 Atmos Energy
 South Coast Gas Company
 Terrebonne Gas Distribution System
Telecommunications/Fiber Optic Providers
 Bellsouth
 Comcast
 AT&T U-verse
Water and Wastewater Providers
 Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Waterworks
District
Solid Waste Disposal Providers
 Terrebonne Parish Utilities
 SWDI LLC
 Waste Management
 Galliano Waste Disposal
 Southern Scrap Recycling
 Scrap Connection
 Pelican Waste & Debris
Did you know?
Hospitals
 Chabert Medical Center
 AMG Specialty Hospital
 Physicians Medical Center
 Terrebonne General Medical Center
 Gulf Coast Surgical Center
Entergy ranked #36 on Corporate
Responsibility Magazine’s annual list
of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens.
Terrebonne General Medical Center
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Houma Industry Breakdown
Houma’s unemployment rate for May 2015 was 5.8 percent,
showing an increase of 800 from April is the largest over-themonth increase since April 2013.
Industry
Health care and social assistance
Retail trade
Educational services
Accommodation and food services
Manufacturing
Administrative and waste services
Construction
Public administration
Wholesale trade
Transportation and warehousing
Professional and technical services
Mining
Finance and insurance
Arts, entertainment and recreation
Other services, except public administration
Real estate and leasing
Information
Utilities
Management of companies and enterprises
Agriculture, fishing and hunting
Source: Louisiana Workforce Commission
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Accolades
City of the Year (Acadiana Profile)
Bond Rating AA- (4th best in La.)
#2 Most Exciting City in La. (Motovo)
#2 Happiest City in USA (U.S. Centers for Disease Control)
#2 Happiest Metro Area in USA (MarketWatch, July 2014)
Honorable Mention for 2015 Small Market of the Year (Southern Business and Development)
Saltwater Fishing Capital of the World
Chauvin Sculpture Garden ranked 12th in the world (Best Value Schools, 2014)
Rougarou Fest ranked among Top 10 Costume Parties in the U.S. (USA Today) and a Top 20 Event
in October (Southeast Tourism Society)
#8 Fastest–Growing Small City in U.S. (Forbes 2014)
#8 American’s Booming Small Cities 2014 (Forbes)
#8 Smartest-Place to Buy a Home in Louisiana (SmartAsset)
#10 City where income is growing fast (24/7 Wall St.)
15th highest GDP growth in the U.S. (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, September 2014)
18th 2013 Best-Performing Small City (The Milken Institute, January 2014)
#25 mid-sized city in Leading Locations for 2013 (Area Development, Summer 2013)
Nicholls State University #42 on 2013 Top Public Schools (U.S. News & World Report, 2014)
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