Tangipahoa Parish, LA

County Profile

136,738 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Tangipahoa Parish, LA.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

50out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 12% of 1,225 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity1014th of 1,255 counties measured39
Schools847th of 973 counties measured20
GrowthTop 21% of 1,226 counties measured65
Housing affordability883rd of 1,255 counties measured84
ClimateTop 14% of 1,254 counties measured77
Physical resilience1121st of 1,255 counties measured24
Access766th of 1,255 counties measured76
Economic stability1009th of 1,255 counties measured40
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published profiles: unemployment is 5.8% and the Opportunity signal places Tangipahoa Parish in the bottom 19%.

In the public schools here, 19% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.4 students for every teacher.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by hurricane, inland flooding and lightning.

At a glance

Population
136,738
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$56,760
Bottom 27% nationally
Density
173/sq mi
791.2 sq mi of land
Median age
35.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Tangipahoa Parish
Louisiana
Metro area
Hammond, LA
Nearest major airport
MSY
44 mi · Louis Armstrong New Orleans Intl
Median home value
$212,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.8% is lower than 8% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment grew 0.9% over the past year, to 57,634 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,614$56,760Bottom 27%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,910$31,792Bottom 34%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income$49,932Bottom 22%of 1,2062023
Poverty rate19.2%Top 20%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute32.2 minTop 14%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher20.8%Bottom 42%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Employment57,634Top 41%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (3 years)0.3%Top 49%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.9%Top 16%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force61,174Top 40%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force participation59.3%Top 47%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)0.0%Bottom 45%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate5.8%Top 8%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/067.73.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.8% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202457k51k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $56,760 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Hammond, LA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides1,750$21,980
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,560$22,350
Cashiers1,440$25,500
Stockers and Order Fillers1,420$35,570
Retail Salespersons1,390$28,570
Registered Nurses1,260$76,200

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

19% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 28% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.4 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
33
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
18.6%
Bottom 8% in Louisiana
Reading proficiency
27.8%
Bottom 4% in Louisiana
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Ponchatoula High SchoolTangipahoa Parish2,06717.1
Hammond High Magnet SchoolTangipahoa Parish1,60615.3
Hammond Eastside MagnetTangipahoa Parish1,34012.622%34%
Champ Cooper Elementary SchoolTangipahoa Parish1,16315.319%40%
Hammond Westside MontessoriTangipahoa Parish1,02211.216%19%
Loranger Elementary SchoolTangipahoa Parish80016.014%24%
Ponchatoula Junior High SchoolTangipahoa Parish72314.221%39%
D.C. Reeves Elementary SchoolTangipahoa Parish68814.625%29%
Tucker Memorial Elementary SchoolTangipahoa Parish63316.2
Loranger High SchoolTangipahoa Parish61614.7
Loranger Middle SchoolTangipahoa Parish59014.412%30%
Martha Vinyard Elementary SchoolTangipahoa Parish58914.022%32%

73.3% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Louisiana’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,003 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.8 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
21.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,003
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$212,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income3.75Top 25%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate70.3%Bottom 30%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7560,006Top 15%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$43$1,003Top 31%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,641$212,900Top 39%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income21.2%Top 14%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate13.3%Bottom 46%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
65/ 100
Top 21% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2022 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 5% since 2020, reaching 139,823 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

At 8.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
1,131
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
8.3
Top 12% nationally
Year over year
+7%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
42.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024140k134k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
20222023202420251k1k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−21%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 38°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 64.2 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station HAMMOND 5 E, 8.4 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND6.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation64.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low38°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing32°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

24 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and lightning.

HurricaneHigh
LightningModerate
Inland floodingElevated
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, tornado, hail, cold wave, strong wind, ice storm, wildfire, coastal flooding, earthquake, landslide, winter weather.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Tangipahoa Parish records 15.2 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 28.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 31.9 per 100,000 residents in Tangipahoa Parish.

Homicide
15.2
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
28.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
31.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
17.4
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Tangipahoa Parish as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Tangipahoa Parish rather than Tangipahoa Parish itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Cost of living now is — the index above is the Bureau of Economic Analysis price parity for this area — but it is a price level for all consumption rather than a budget for a household, its spread is driven mostly by housing, and it excludes taxes. Housing affordability is computed separately from rent, price and income, because that answers a narrower and more actionable question. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 44 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Louis Armstrong New Orleans IntlMSY44 mi10,104 ft
Stennis IntlHSA59 mi8,498 ft
Acadiana RgnlARA97 mi8,002 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023Annually, each December
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

Cities in Tangipahoa Parish, LA