BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Contributing Writer
How does St. Landry Parish rank economically, socially and educationally nationally with other Louisiana parishes?
Several organizations including the U.S. Census Bureau, the State Department of Education and Lightcast 2023 have released statistical data recently concerning St. Landry.
Additionally the United Way has released information included in its ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constraint Economics) that measures the basic costs of living and wage earning potential for St. Landry and other Louisiana parishes.
At a meeting last week, members of the St. Landry Economic Development Group reviewed contents of one profile provided with information supplied by South Louisiana Community College/
SLEDD executive director Bill Rodier urged SLEDD members to review the SLCC information and form their own conclusions about the parish.
St. Landry Now.com has compiled details from these individual studies and provided a parishwide snapshot of how the parish competes statewide and nationally.
Tracking St. Landry Poverty
Both the ALICE study and the Census Bureau generally agree with the overall poverty rate in St. Landry.
Census statistics show a 25.9 parish poverty rate (2021), while the ALICE statistics show the parish with 27 percent of 32,213 households living in poverty during the same period.
Statewide the poverty rate is 18.8 percent according to the Census.
In the U.S. 12.6 percent of the population lives in poverty. The ALICE project says 19 percent of Louisiana households exist in poverty.
Parish garbage collection provider Bayou State Waste announced last year that it counted 37,000 households that needed waste collection bins, which is nearly 5,000 more than the ALICE and Census Bureau indicate.
High School Graduates
The Louisiana Department of Education indicates that in 2021, the parish featured an 81.5 percent graduation rate.
Rodier was quick to point out that about seven years ago, St. Landry’s graduation rate hovered around 70 percent. Rodier gave credit to former St. Landry School Superintendent Patrick Jenkins for instituting programs that elevated the parish-wide graduation rate in public schools.
St. Landry ranks just below the state average graduation rate of 83.5 percent, according to the LDOE.
Average Household Income
The ALICE report shows the average annual income is St. Landry is now $38,599.
The Census Bureau places that statistic slightly higher ($41,068). The Census Bureau average yearly income in Louisiana is $53,571. However, even the yearly statewide amount is quite lower than the national average ($69.021).
Diplomas And Degrees
Census statistics show 85 percent or 46,009 St. Landry adults 25 years and older lack a bachelor’s degree.
That’s about 10 percent higher than the statewide average of 74 percent, the Census Bureau says.
About 23 percent of St. Landry adult residents (13,645) have not received a high school diploma. That figure is quite higher than the state average of 14.2 percent, the Census Bureau says. Nationwide 11.2 percent of the population lacks a high school diploma.
LDOE data shows St. Landry had a 13 percent college enrollment in 2021. That figure is quite a bit less than the 23.9 percent of state residents that were enrolled in colleges during the same year, according to the LDOE.
A Lighcasst survey shows that 53.6 percent of careers in Louisiana will require at least an associate degree by 2033.
Who’s Working?
Individuals 55 years of age and older in the parish were employed in 2021 at a rate of 33.1 percent, according to the Census Bureau.
That figure is slightly lower than the statewide percentage of 36.7. Nationally 39.8 percent of individuals 55 and older were still employed two years ago.
The parish unemployment rate averaged 4.2 percent in 2022, according to Lightcast. That’s slightly more than the state average of 3.3 percent during the same year, Lightcast says.
However none of the statistics provided by any of the sources show how many persons parish or statewide rely on some form of annual government assistance for at least part of their incomes..
