Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 32 notable people.
Bogalusa grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns, mostly because of health and safety. On CDC estimates, its residents' health ranks in the bottom 2% nationally. It reports more crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns, including 94 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. In its favor, homes are within reach, about $97K for a typical one, or 2.1 years of the Bogalusa area’s $45K median household income. 39% of residents live below the poverty line in Bogalusa, against 20% in Louisiana’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Bogalusa has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Bogalusa City Hall and Sullivan House.
Where Bogalusa beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Professor Longhair
Bogalusa City Hall| Widest gap | Bogalusa | LA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 18.5% | 12.4% |
12,232 counted in 2010 and 10,659 in 2020; an estimated 10,321 in 2025.
The decline has continued: down 3.2% since 2020, after 12.9% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Louisiana), ordered by how far Bogalusa is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 8,245 in 1920, a peak of 21,423 in 1960, 10,659 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1718 and 5 maps from 1949 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bogalusa, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Bogalusa.
Bogalusa is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has poverty well above the Louisiana rate.
Against the 637 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bogalusa’s, it is less healthy than 79%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
Bogalusa beats the Louisiana average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 50% of adults have high blood pressure in Bogalusa.
| Bogalusa | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 50% | 44% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 34% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 26% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 27% | 19% |
| What stands out | Bogalusa | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 13.2% | 16.9% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 18.5% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the City of Bogalusa School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Bogalusa High School, with 656 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 416 | D |
| Bogalusa High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 656 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 552 to 416 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Bogalusa is 9.1 per 1,000 residents. Bogalusa reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 98% report less. The property crime rate in Bogalusa is 31.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Bogalusa | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.1 per 1,000 residents | 4.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 31.2 per 1,000 residents | 23.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 2.1 years of the Bogalusa area’s $45K median household income, the typical home (about $97K) costs less against local pay than in 86% of Louisiana towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. The typical value, about $97K, is 23% below its July 2022 peak.
47% of Bogalusa households own their home. Typical home values rose 5.9% in the year to September 2026. Bogalusa’s median rent is $767 a month.
| Bogalusa | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 47% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $767 a month | $992 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
134 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 24 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1979, 134 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bogalusa.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bogalusa has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 39° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 5 of Bogalusa’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Bogalusa has lost 526 jobs, to 3,095 in 2023. The top destinations are New Orleans (9%), Baton Rouge (4%) and Metairie (4%).
| Bogalusa | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $31,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Cassidy Park, at 22 acres.
| Bogalusa | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cassidy Park | 0.5 mi | 22 |
| 2. Goodyear Park | 0.3 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Bogalusa; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Bogalusa residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Louisiana.
6 places in Bogalusa on the National Register of Historic Places.
32 notable people were born in Bogalusa.
City in Louisiana, United States
Bogalusa ( BOH-gə-LOO-sə) is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,232 at the 2010 census. In the 2020 census the city reported a population of 10,659. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Washington Parish and is also part of the larger New Orleans–Metairie–Slidell combined statistical area. The name of the city derives from the Choctaw language term bogue lusa, which translates into English as "dark water" or "smoky water". Located in an area of pine forests, in the early 20th century, this industrial city was developed as a company town, to provide worker housing and services in association wi…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bogalusa grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns. It grades D− for health, D− for safety and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within Louisiana, it does better than 22% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
32 notable people were born here, including Professor Longhair and Yusef Komunyakaa.
