Washington Parish, LA

County Profile

45,120 residents. Jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Washington Parish, LA.

32out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 1% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity1,447th of 1,463 counties measured15
Schools1,102nd of 1,377 counties measured26
Growth1,437th of 1,453 counties measured9
Housing affordability1,189th of 1,462 counties measured63
ClimateTop 11% of 1,463 counties measured78
Physical resilience1,387th of 1,463 counties measured15
Access1,031st of 1,463 counties measured70
Economic stability1,433rd of 1,463 counties measured10
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 5.0% and the Opportunity signal places Washington Parish in the bottom 1%.

In the public schools here, 54% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.4 students for every teacher.

No residential units were authorized over the past twelve months, against a nonzero total the year before.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
45,120
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$45,380
Bottom 8% nationally
Density
67/sq mi
669.6 sq mi of land
Median age
40.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Washington Parish
Louisiana
Micro area
Nearest major airport
HSA
49 mi · Stennis Intl
Median home value
$155,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.0% — higher than in all but 21% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 2.5% over the past year, to 16,787 employed residents.

Median household income of $45,380 is lower than in 92% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$43,7767th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$41,5723rd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,6642024 ACS 5-Year$45,380Bottom 8%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,6682024 ACS 5-Year$25,927Bottom 10%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$44,245Bottom 6%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year23.8%Bottom 8%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year32.9 minBottom 12%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year12.8%Bottom 6%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year72.8%23rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202616,787Bottom 25%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−2.6%Bottom 19%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.5%Bottom 14%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202617,67825th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year61.8%Bottom 9%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%49th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Top 47%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.0%Bottom 21%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.2%11th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.33.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.0% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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

202120222023202445k39k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $45,380 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.

54% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 66% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.4 students for every full-time teacher across 14 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
14
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
54.4%
Bottom 7% in Louisiana
Reading proficiency
65.6%
Bottom 23% in Louisiana
The 12 largest of 14 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Pine SchoolWashington Parish73815.754%73%
Thomas Elementary SchoolWashington Parish72115.378%80%
Bogalusa High SchoolCity of Bogalusa School District65612.125%49%
Franklinton High SchoolWashington Parish64912.561%72%
Franklinton Primary SchoolWashington Parish56712.9——
Northshore Charter School · charterCity of Bogalusa School District42815.339%58%
Central Elementary SchoolCity of Bogalusa School District41613.036%44%
Franklinton Elementary SchoolWashington Parish38913.973%75%
Mt. Hermon SchoolWashington Parish37312.454%60%
Franklinton Junior High SchoolWashington Parish31213.053%67%
Byrd Avenue Primary SchoolCity of Bogalusa School District30312.6——
Enon Elementary SchoolWashington Parish26313.882%87%

76.3% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Louisiana’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Louisiana is up 25% over five years, and up 0.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $507 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.33% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $834, some 8% above the $774 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $834 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $33,400 a year, about 74% of the median household income here of $45,380.

The typical renter household here spends 35% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $774 a month.

A median home at $155,700 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $56,737, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
35.4%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$834
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$774
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$155,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Washington Parish’s median household income of $45,380, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Louisiana’s figure2026 Q2+0.8%9th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Louisiana’s figure2026 Q2+25.3%5th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Louisiana’s figure2026 Q2+43.1%2nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year2.7Bottom 38%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year69.3%26th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±452024 ACS 5-Year21,43967th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$761Top 17%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,160Top 8%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$834Top 3%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$462024 ACS 5-Year$774Top 28%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,7222024 ACS 5-Year$155,70034th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$542024 ACS 5-Year$5074th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,4022024 ACS 5-Year$56,737Bottom 11%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.33%3rd percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year35.4%Bottom 4%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2542024 ACS 5-Year47758th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.2%45th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year15.1%85th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4152024 ACS 5-Year3,72372nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

9/ 100
Ranks 1,437 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 fallen 1% since 2020, to 45,090 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 0 units authorized in 2025, against a nonzero total the year before.

Federal tax returns show Washington Parish gained about 0.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $43,776, above the $41,572 of households that moved out.

At 0.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
0
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.0
Bottom 1% nationally
Year over year
−100%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
—
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202445k45k
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. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
40%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$43,776
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$41,572
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. St. Tammany Parish, LA 358 people · 24% of arrivals
  2. Tangipahoa Parish, LA 214 people · 14% of arrivals
  3. Jefferson Parish, LA 78 people · 5.2% of arrivals
  4. Walthall County, MS 77 people · 5.1% of arrivals
  5. Orleans Parish, LA 44 people · 2.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. St. Tammany Parish, LA 297 people · 21% of departures
  2. Tangipahoa Parish, LA 226 people · 16% of departures
  3. Pearl River County, MS 64 people · 4.5% of departures
  4. East Baton Rouge Parish, LA 60 people · 4.2% of departures
  5. Walthall County, MS 60 people · 4.2% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025100.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 38°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 60.6 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MCCOMB/PIKE CO/JOHN E LEWIS AP, 34.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals60.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals32°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

15 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and tornado, with hurricane alone responsible for 49% of it.

HurricaneHigh
DroughtElevated
Inland floodingElevated
HailModerate
TornadoModerate
Cold waveModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, wildfire, lightning, strong wind, ice storm, earthquake, winter weather, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, and no county figure could be attached to this page.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Stennis Intl at 49 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year74.2%Bottom 4%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle49 miBottom 33%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 15%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year22.5%Bottom 4%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Stennis IntlHSA49 mi8,498 ft
Louis Armstrong New Orleans IntlMSY61 mi10,104 ft
Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers IntlJAN101 mi8,500 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 period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

Cities in Washington Parish, LA

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.