NAICS 54

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services in Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA

Metro Market Score 53.6 (Challenging), ranked #162 of 261 metros. 1,768 establishments, 6,247 jobs.

Metro Market Score 53.6

Favorable 0-35

Moderate 35-48

Challenging 48-60

Difficult 60+

Challenging

ⓘ Lower is better. Relative to national professional, scientific, and technical services average.

Slidell-Mandeville-Covington's professional, scientific, and technical services market sits near the national metro median, ranking #162 of 261 with a market score of 53.6. No single metric stands out as an outlier, which means entry conditions depend more on your specific business model than on broad market forces.

Industry Concentration

83.9

LQ: 0.93

Rank #219 of 261 metros

Wage Competitiveness

43.3

$81,958 avg wage

Growth Trend

48.7

Employment growth index

Rank #135 of 261 metros

Wage Pressure

32.2

YoY wage change index

1,768 Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Firms in Slidell-Mandeville-Covington

1,768

Establishments

+100.0% YoY

6,247

Total Employment

+0.0% YoY

$81,958

Average Annual Wage

+0.0% YoY

0.93

Location Quotient

Below national avg

Within Louisiana

#6 of 7

professional, scientific, and technical services metros in state

Louisiana state rank

#15 of 51

for professional, scientific, and technical services entry risk

vs State Median

+16.7

worse than median (36.9)

Slidell-Mandeville-Covington vs Louisiana Statewide

How this metro's professional, scientific, and technical services market compares to Louisiana overall. The state ranks #15/51 for entry risk.

Measure	Slidell-Mandeville-Covington	LA Statewide
Overall Score	53.6 Challenging	36.4 Moderate
Score Type	Metro Market Score	Entry Risk Score
Rank	#162 of 261 metros	#15 of 51 states

Metro and state scores use different methodologies (metro has 4 QCEW-based metrics; state adds BDS survival and momentum data). Direct score comparisons are approximate.

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services in Other Louisiana Metros

Alexandria 22.1 #19/261 Hammond 32.6 #48/261 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 35.7 #63/261 Lake Charles 36.9 #70/261 Shreveport-Bossier City 52.9 #156/261 Lafayette 62.8 #203/261

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Metros With Similar Conditions

Metros within 5 points of Slidell-Mandeville-Covington's 53.6 score. Useful when comparing markets with comparable entry profiles.

Champaign-Urbana, IL 53.4 #161/261 Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC 53.3 #160/261 Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC 54.0 #163/261 Redding, CA 53.3 #159/261 Tucson, AZ 53.2 #158/261 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 54.1 #164/261 Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC 54.1 #165/261 Columbus, IN 53.0 #157/261 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 52.9 #156/261 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 52.8 #155/261

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services in States Bordering Louisiana

State-level entry risk for professional, scientific, and technical services in adjacent states. Use this to weigh cross-border options.

Mississippi 33.4 #5/51 Arkansas 37.3 #18/51 Texas 42.2 #30/51

Browse Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services in Other States

State-level entry risk reports for professional, scientific, and technical services across all 51 markets, sorted by rank.

About Metro Market Score: A weighted composite of industry concentration (25%), wage competitiveness (25%), wage pressure (20%), and employment growth trend (30%). Lower scores indicate more favorable conditions. For Slidell-Mandeville-Covington's professional, scientific, and technical services sector, the industry concentration component (83.9) has the strongest pull on the composite. Metro scores use QCEW data only (no BDS survival data at metro level). Read full methodology →

Data Sources

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Bureau of Labor Statistics. MSA-level establishment counts, employment, wages, and location quotients for the Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA MSA area.

Data period: 2024. Last updated: April 2026.

Metro Market Assessment