Houma, Louisiana

Area Profile

32,392 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Houma, in Terrebonne Parish.

52out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 28% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity2,248th of 4,199 cities measured55
SchoolsTop 43% of 4,162 cities measured55
Growth3,706th of 4,224 cities measured28
Housing affordability2,447th of 4,218 cities measured63
ClimateTop 16% of 4,225 cities measured81
Physical resilience3,157th of 4,226 cities measured32
Access3,356th of 4,226 cities measured80
Economic stability3,562nd of 4,226 cities measured36
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.7% and median household income $58,194, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 66% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.0 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 242 units authorized over the past twelve months, 23% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Terrebonne Parish, LA, which contains Houma, rather than for Houma alone.

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
32,392
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$58,194
Bottom 36% nationally
Density
2,239/sq mi
14.5 sq mi of land
Median age
34.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Louisiana
Nearest major airport
MSY
39 mi · Louis Armstrong New Orleans Intl
Median home value
$205,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.7%, lower than in 74% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.4% over the past year, to 13,666 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsTerrebonne Parish, LA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$44,1692nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftTerrebonne Parish, LA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$48,4735th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,7792024 ACS 5-Year$58,194Bottom 36%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,2792024 ACS 5-Year$34,076Top 49%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.0%Bottom 32%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.2 minTop 22%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year23.8%Top 42%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year80.3%61st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202613,666Bottom 10%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.3%Bottom 34%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.4%Top 43%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202614,1969th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year75.6%Bottom 41%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageHouma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$55,870Bottom 6%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageHouma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$45,610Bottom 8%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%78th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 38%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.7%Top 26%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.7%30th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.02.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.7% 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

202120222023202458k49k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $58,194 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 — Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Sailors and Marine Oilers2,140$48,500
Cashiers2,070$25,990
Retail Salespersons2,060$29,220
Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels2,040$103,780
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand2,000$33,310
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,990$22,280

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

66% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 75% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.0 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
14
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.0
across 12 of them
Math proficiency
66.3%
Bottom 49% in Louisiana
Reading proficiency
75.4%
Top 33% in Louisiana
The 12 largest of 14 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Terrebonne High SchoolTerrebonne Parish1,34619.878%89%
Ellender Memorial High SchoolTerrebonne Parish81916.463%73%
Mulberry Elementary SchoolTerrebonne Parish78916.488%94%
Houma Junior High SchoolTerrebonne Parish67316.459%73%
Acadian Elementary SchoolTerrebonne Parish65413.962%68%
Evergreen Junior High SchoolTerrebonne Parish62217.361%75%
Oaklawn Middle SchoolTerrebonne Parish59614.940%62%
Southdown Elementary SchoolTerrebonne Parish57216.357%56%
Village East Elementary SchoolTerrebonne Parish40013.852%60%
Grand Caillou Elementary SchoolTerrebonne Parish36014.477%77%
Grand Caillou Middle SchoolTerrebonne Parish26714.851%61%
Dularge Elementary SchoolTerrebonne Parish24411.698%92%

75.3% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 11% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 88.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Metro Area is up 17% over five years, but down 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 $778 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.38% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,102, close to the $1,058 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,102 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $44,100 a year, about 76% of the median household income here of $58,194.

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 $1,058 a month.

A median home at $205,900 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $76,114, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
88.9

Prices here run about 11% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
35.1%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,102
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,058
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$205,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Houma’s median household income of $58,194, 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
Cost of living indexthe Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Metro Area’s figure202388.9Top 4%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−0.8%3rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+16.8%3rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+26.9%1st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.7Bottom 43%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year72.4%42nd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5702024 ACS 5-Year14,94596th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$904Top 15%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,330Top 9%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,102Top 14%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$582024 ACS 5-Year$1,058Bottom 42%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,4812024 ACS 5-Year$205,90055th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$722024 ACS 5-Year$77816th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,1312024 ACS 5-Year$76,114Bottom 46%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.38%4th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year35.1%Bottom 20%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±142024 ACS 5-Year963rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%52nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year10.6%66th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3242024 ACS 5-Year1,59997th percentileof 32,3302024 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

28/ 100
Ranks 3,706 of 4,224 published city profiles

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 5% since 2020, to 31,671 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 242 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Terrebonne Parish, LA, which contains Houma, rather than for Houma alone.

Federal tax returns show Terrebonne Parish, which contains Houma, lost about 1.0% 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 $44,169, below the $48,473 of households that moved out.

At 2.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Terrebonne Parish, LA, which contains Houma, rather than for Houma alone.

Units permitted
242
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.3
Bottom 46% nationally
Year over year
−23%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202433k32k
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 falling for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
29%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$44,169
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$48,473
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Lafourche Parish, LA 1,555 people · 43% of arrivals
  2. St. Mary Parish, LA 152 people · 4.2% of arrivals
  3. Lafayette Parish, LA 143 people · 4.0% of arrivals
  4. Harris County, TX 117 people · 3.2% of arrivals
  5. Jefferson Parish, LA 111 people · 3.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Lafourche Parish, LA 1,520 people · 35% of departures
  2. Lafayette Parish, LA 234 people · 5.3% of departures
  3. Harris County, TX 186 people · 4.2% of departures
  4. East Baton Rouge Parish, LA 177 people · 4.0% of departures
  5. Jefferson Parish, LA 145 people · 3.3% 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. This is the figure for Terrebonne Parish, LA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Houma, LA is not one. This is the figure for Terrebonne Parish, LA, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

8 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 44°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 65.4 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station HOUMA, 7.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND9.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals65.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals81991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals29°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

32 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and coastal flooding, with hurricane alone responsible for 63% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HurricaneHigh
Coastal floodingElevated
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, tornado, lightning, cold wave, inland flooding, hail, winter weather, earthquake, strong wind, wildfire, landslide, ice storm, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
489
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,744
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Houma's police department reported 489 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,744.

Terrebonne Parish has a modeled homicide rate of about 5.3 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 9.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 25.1 per 100,000 residents in Terrebonne Parish.

Homicide
5.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
9.7
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
25.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
11.6
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Houma’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Houma (Terrebonne Parish) rather than Houma itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

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.

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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Louis Armstrong New Orleans Intl at 39 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year89.4%Bottom 48%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle39 miBottom 19%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.7%Bottom 44%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Louis Armstrong New Orleans IntlMSY39 mi10,104 ft
Acadiana RgnlARA77 mi8,002 ft
Lafayette Rgnl/Paul Fournet FldLFT88 mi8,000 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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Area Score
52
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Other cities in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Bayou CaneTerrebonne Parish21,25360Bayou Cane vs Houma
ThibodauxLafourche Parish15,73259Thibodaux vs Houma
Bayou BlueTerrebonne Parish12,21855Bayou Blue vs Houma

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Houma side by side with a similar place.

Houma vs Morgan CityHouma vs Pascagoula

Moving to Houma from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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.

ZIP codes in Houma

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Houma with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
7036028,574$84,890$286,00058
7036324,127$46,748$147,40046