county

Ouachita Parish, LA

Demographic and economic profile of Ouachita Parish, LA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Ouachita Parish is a regional center of approximately 159,000 residents in northeast Louisiana, where healthcare, retail trade, and government services anchor the local economy, supported by a median worker earnings figure of $38,543 and a GDP per capita of $45,308. The labor force of roughly 59.1% participation skews toward moderate education levels, with 27.5% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and costs remain low—median home values sit at $183,000 with gross rent averaging $923 per month. A 24.0% poverty rate and 6.6% unemployment signal persistent structural challenges, though the parish registered 1.8% population growth over five years.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

157,874

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$54,688

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

36.6 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+1.8% since 2018

Ouachita Parish added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone89,400 (56.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone59,054 (37.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race3,397 (2.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races2,291 (1.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone2,180 (1.4%)
  • Asian Alone1,819 (1.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish3,950
  2. 2.Other Indo-European810
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)290
  4. 4.Arabic286
  5. 5.Vietnamese206

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

15.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

7,477

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$45,308

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$30,656

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

24.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance20,632
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)7,668
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services6,094
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services6,052
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)5,158

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations27,989
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations14,230
  3. 3.Service Occupations12,252
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations8,630
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations6,173

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Information (LQ 1.75×)2,234
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.25×)19,929
  3. 3.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.11×)1,753
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.09×)8,116
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 1.08×)3,474

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$183,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$923/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

61.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9995,302 (14.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9994,353 (11.6%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9994,300 (11.5%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9993,434 (9.2%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9992,623 (7.0%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9992,511 (6.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

27.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

59.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$38,543

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

22.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

9.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone53,676 (78.4%)
  • Carpooled6,662 (9.7%)
  • Worked At Home5,708 (8.3%)
  • Walked1,020 (1.5%)
  • Other701 (1.0%)
  • Public Transit563 (0.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.