The 10 Worst Places To Live In Louisiana For 2023

The 10 Worst Places To Live In Louisiana For 2023

Marksville is located about a half mile down a country round, south of Alexandria. There’s not a lot to do here, and when you factor in some of the lowest student support in the state and some of the worst weather, it’s not a place you might want to move to.

And the crime in Marksville is the 11th highest in the state, where 1 in 18.6 people have a chance of being the victim of a property crime, according to the latest FBI numbers.

Bogalusa began life as a lumber town. Businessmen from the north established the community in the early 20th century around a sawmill. Unfortunately, this economic base has eroded by the early 21st century. Now, a lack of jobs leaves the town as the number 2 worst place to live in Louisiana.

Almost a third of residents live below the poverty line. That state of affairs comes about because of an eye-popping 12.1% unemployment rate. The median income is disappointing as well, reaching just $32,613. Given this financial situation, it’s not surprising that the area also has problems with housing, crime, and education.

This community in northern Louisiana was founded by a scam artist. The Baron de Bastrop (not a real baron, as it turns out) had traveled to the region to avoid embezzlement charges. With this as the town’s namesake, what could go wrong?

Plenty, as it turns out. Maybe Bastrop’s financial woes put a curse on the area. With a median income of just $23,955 almost half of the town’s residents scrape by on the wrong side of the poverty line.

As a result, Bastrop faces a crime rate more than 250% above the national average. Schools and housing are substandard as well.

Opelousas is known for its music. If you like zydeco, plan to take your vacation here. You can learn all about it at the town’s Creole Heritage Folklife Center. You’ll also enjoy some great Cajun cooking in “the spice capital of the world.”

With all this going for it, how did Opelousas end up on this list? Well, besides the great music and the great food, the community doesn’t have much of an economic base. Like most of the towns we talk about here, poverty poses a massive problem. In this case, the poverty rate hovers at 37.2%.

Meanwhile, the crime rate runs more than 300% above the national average. Local schools and housing also fall below expectations.

Ville Platte roughly means “flat city.” That may make the town seem like a boring kind of place. Better to focus on the community’s other title: “Smoked Meat Capital of the World.” Now, we’ve got your attention, right? Well, how about this other distinction the town has earned: “Swamp Pop Capital of the World.”

That seems like a fun place, a far cry from a flat city. Unfortunately, smoked meat and swamp music aren’t enough to fuel a sustained economy. Instead, the town struggles with an unemployment rate of 27.2% and a poverty rate of 41.5%.

In addition, the area’s crime rate more than doubles the U.S. norm and most of its schools score no better than a 5/10 on Great Schools.

One of the oldest communities in Louisiana, St. Martinville has a rich cultural history. Considered a centerpiece of Cajun culture, the town also features several examples of historic architecture and appears in multiple famous works of fiction, from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Evangeline” to the movie Christmas on the Bayou.

Sounds like living in postcard, right? Not quite. The daily grind in St. Martinville is, well…pretty grinding.

The unemployment rate hangs at 13.2% and the median income only reaches $30,565. As a result, the town, built along the Bayou Teche waterway in the southern part of the state, suffers a poverty rate of 24.5%.

People love the architecture of Natchitoches. Built in a quaint European style and including the occasional brick street, the Natchitoches Historic District provides an excellent place to stroll during a lazy afternoon.

The economy does its best to make these walks possible. With an unemployment rate of 17.7%, a good chunk of the town’s 18,105 residents have their afternoons free. Even the folks who find jobs can only expect a median income of $28,401. As a result, the poverty rate in town runs a freighening 37.4%.

Compounding these woes, the community faces a crime rate more than triple the national average.

Eunice is home to the Cajun Music Hall of Fame. That sounds like enough for any town. However, day-to-day life for the community’s 9,589 inhabitants is far from a song. The blues, maybe…but not a jaunty Cajun number.

Located in the southern part of the state, about 45 minutes northwest of Lafayette, good-paying jobs are scarce in town. The unemployment rate runs 12.7%, leaving nearly 30% of the community below the poverty line.

As you’ve probably guessed, this leads to other social problems. The crime rate comes in at more than 140% above the national average. Housing and education are also sources of disappointment.

Here’s another town on this list with a rich history and not much of a present. Located along the Mississippi River, Donaldsonville became the site of what became known as Fort Butler, a haven for runaway slaves during the Civil War. The community commemorates this history at educational attractions, like the Fort Butler Historic Site and the River Road African American Museum.

So that’s a sample of the rich past. Now to the stagnant present. The current population of 6,834 residents face a lot of daily struggles, including a 15.4% unemployment rate and a $20,052 median income. Those conditions lead to a 46.9% poverty rate. And, as usually happens, the economic issues contribute to problems related to housing and schools.