Louisiana Population | Income, Demographics, Employment, Housing

Louisiana Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Louisiana, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Louisiana. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Louisiana. The estimated population of Louisiana is 4,657,305 people, with a median age of 37.4.

We can look at the total population in Louisiana over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
4,657,305
 -0.16% -0.13%
2020
4,664,616
+0.01%
-
2019
4,664,362
+0.02%
-
2018
4,663,616
 0% -
2017
4,663,461
 - -

Population of Louisiana by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
57.8%
59%
 -2.03%
Black/African American
31.7%
32%
 -0.94%
Native
0.5%
0.5%
 0.00%
Hispanic
5.3%
5%
 +6.00%
Asian
1.7%
1.7%
 0.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.6%
1.6%
 +62.50%
Other
0.4%
0.2%
 +100.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Louisiana by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 37.4 +0.54% 36.3 +1.11% 38.5 +0.26%
2020 37.2 +0.81% 35.9 +0.84% 38.4 +0.52%
2019 36.9 +0.82% 35.6 +0.56% 38.2 +0.79%
2018 36.6 +0.55% 35.4 +0.85% 37.9 +0.53%
2017 36.4 - 35.1 - 37.7 -

The median age of Louisiana gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 316,039 -3.69% 307,128 -4.44% 304,546 293,670
10 to 19 313,540 +1.41% 295,402 +2.08% 317,944 301,582
20 to 29 343,341 -8.07% 339,144 -7.82% 316,412 313,347
30 to 39 311,256 +2.59% 311,951 +4.15% 319,378 325,063
40 to 49 275,340 -0.75% 288,062 -3.21% 273,177 278,894
50 to 59 301,690 -4.25% 323,740 -6.38% 289,016 303,594
60 to 69 241,543 +7.26% 265,087 +8.34% 259,546 287,781
70+ 178,490 +13.39% 251,708 +7.04% 203,542 269,813

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Louisiana is $53,571.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Louisiana.

  • Under 25
    $29,032.00
  • 25 to 44
    $60,800.00
  • 45 to 64
    $62,999.00
  • 65 and over
    $40,352.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Louisiana, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Louisiana, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Louisiana is currently $77,025.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

5.67% of households in Louisiana are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Louisiana against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    25.30%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    21.94%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    16.14%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    11.37%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    13.73%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    5.85%
  • $200,000 or more
    5.67%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Louisiana is $30,340.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Louisiana by the total population of Louisiana.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Louisiana, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Louisiana to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    11.05%
  • Bachelor's degree
    28.20%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    9.94%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    47.67%
  • Less than high school diploma
    3.14%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Louisiana that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Louisiana over the age of 16 is 3,679,521.

Of those people, a total of 59.20% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Louisiana is 54.70%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 239,958 32.10% 21.00%
20 to 24 years 305,708 69.60% 12.00%
25 to 29 years 324,051 78.80% 7.70%
30 to 34 years 323,184 78.40% 6.80%
35 to 44 years 601,213 78.80% 6.00%
45 to 54 years 555,655 75.40% 4.90%
55 to 59 years 309,070 65.40% 4.50%
60 to 64 years 298,236 50.00% 3.70%
65 to 74 years 443,472 25.90% 4.10%
75 years and over 278,974 8.00% 3.70%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Louisiana. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 2,287,498 59.70% 4.90%
Black or African American 1,134,910 57.50% 10.40%
American Indian and Alaska Native 20,155 60.80% 4.40%
Asian 66,181 62.90% 4.20%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 1,846 65.10% 2.30%
Other 55,683 64.90% 6.70%
Two or more races 113,248 62.30% 10.40%
Hispanic or Latino 176,575 67.00% 6.10%
Not Hispanic or Latino 2,206,955 59.40% 4.90%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Louisiana as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Louisiana is 2,013,907, with median earnings of $37,971.00.

Women in Louisiana earning approximately 63.30% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 2,013,907 $37,971.00
Male 1,035,878 $47,756.00
Female 978,029 $30,227.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 186,869 $67,221.00
Business and Financial 86,638 $60,323.00
Computer and Mathematical 31,743 $63,005.00
Architecture and Engineering 36,664 $88,467.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 19,185 $62,979.00
Community and Social Service 40,929 $42,115.00
Legal 26,873 $73,605.00
Educational and Library 129,373 $43,475.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 30,887 $32,980.00
Healthcare Practitioners 142,330 $56,246.00
Healthcare Support 70,141 $20,577.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 26,748 $32,598.00
Law Enforcement 27,208 $48,789.00
Food Preparation and Serving 120,954 $15,235.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 76,704 $19,176.00
Personal Care and Service 51,791 $17,966.00
Sales 209,060 $27,870.00
Office and Administrative Support 219,333 $31,714.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 10,350 $25,341.00
Construction and Extraction 136,682 $41,111.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 74,461 $45,977.00
Production 104,409 $49,872.00
Transportation and Material Moving 87,759 $38,383.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 107,992 $82,091.00 78,877 $53,165.00
Business and Financial 39,372 $74,860.00 47,266 $51,839.00
Computer and Mathematical 21,713 $68,258.00 10,030 $52,776.00
Architecture and Engineering 31,092 $92,652.00 5,572 $74,746.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 11,039 $73,776.00 8,146 $49,449.00
Community and Social Service 13,630 $47,283.00 27,299 $40,890.00
Legal 12,679 $114,698.00 14,194 $55,309.00
Educational and Library 29,480 $49,374.00 99,893 $42,263.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 16,345 $35,844.00 14,542 $29,556.00
Healthcare Practitioners 32,310 $81,804.00 110,020 $52,622.00
Healthcare Support 7,424 $23,554.00 62,717 $20,355.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 18,577 $38,254.00 8,171 $25,517.00
Law Enforcement 20,573 $51,174.00 6,635 $39,753.00
Food Preparation and Serving 49,671 $16,800.00 71,283 $14,264.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 42,432 $24,093.00 34,272 $15,192.00
Personal Care and Service 13,098 $20,522.00 38,693 $17,411.00
Sales 95,556 $47,405.00 113,504 $20,237.00
Office and Administrative Support 44,964 $41,136.00 174,369 $30,713.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 8,459 $28,835.00 1,891 $16,072.00
Construction and Extraction 131,871 $41,580.00 4,811 $26,772.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 72,323 $46,758.00 2,138 $32,072.00
Production 87,696 $55,438.00 16,713 $23,376.00
Transportation and Material Moving 72,953 $42,633.00 14,806 $21,560.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 1,748,688 households in Louisiana, with an average household size of 2.59 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 1,115,692 families in Louisiana with an average family size of 3.28 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 754,049 89,443 272,200 632,996
Average Household Size 3.24 3.4 3.71 1.23
Total Families 754,049 89,443 272,200 0
Average Household Size 3.21 3.03 3.54 0

Poverty

Of the 1,115,692 families in Louisiana, 14.00% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Louisiana:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 2,066,323 housing units in Louisiana.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 1,748,688 84.63%
Vacant 317,635 15.37%

25.33% of the total 2,066,323 housing units in Louisiana are rental units. This is approximately 523,309 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 1,165,858 are occupied by the owner - or 56.42% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Louisiana is $923.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Louisiana that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    59,521
  • Less than $500
    62,215
  • $500 to $999
    247,179
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    159,453
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    39,746
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    10,279
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    2,229
  • $3,000 or more
    2,208

Property Value

The median value of a property in Louisiana is $174,000.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Louisiana that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    126,827
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    161,840
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    174,273
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    217,539
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    257,286
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    162,161
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    53,929
  • $1,000,000 or more
    12,003

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Louisiana. The chart below shows the number of properties in Louisiana that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    134,514
  • 1940 to 1949
    83,283
  • 1950 to 1959
    186,695
  • 1960 to 1969
    250,210
  • 1970 to 1979
    364,705
  • 1980 to 1989
    299,071
  • 1990 to 1999
    260,282
  • 2000 to 2009
    294,877
  • 2010 to 2013
    188,045
  • 2014 or later
    4,641

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Louisiana that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    144,906
  • 1 vehicle available
    642,075
  • 2 vehicles available
    654,269
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    307,438

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Louisiana get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Louisiana that commute to work in a particular way.

25.9 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Louisiana.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    59,262
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    189,627
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    278,395
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    328,263
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    274,117
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    110,479
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    255,682
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    46,096
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    55,331
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    132,108
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    98,478
  • 90 or more minutes
    58,507

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Louisiana in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Counties in Louisiana

We have data for 64 counties in Louisiana. Click on a county below to see more information about the demographics of that county, with links to cities and towns within that county.

Zip Codes in Louisiana

If you want to find out more about the population and demographics of specific zip codes in Louisiana, click on the links below.