Claiborne in pictures
Census counts: 6,278 in 1980, 12,631 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2004 and 5 maps from 1935 on.
Explore the history →Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Louisiana. This town in Louisiana has a population of 13,308.
Claiborne’s grades pull in different directions. The weak point is cost of living (C): the typical home is worth about $219K, 4.2 years of the Monroe metro’s $52K median household income. It also trails on walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 66% of U.S. towns. Where it does best is schools (A−): its schools rank ahead of 80% of Louisiana towns. Put together, the subjects come to a B− overall, ranking 35th of 161 in Louisiana. On that grade it does better than 47% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge, at 96 acres.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · OpenStreetMap.
Where Claiborne beats most towns.
Where Claiborne’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Louisiana), ordered by how far Claiborne is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 6,278 in 1980, 12,631 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2004 and 5 maps from 1935 on.
Explore the history →Claiborne is unincorporated, so Ouachita Parish and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Claiborne.
Claiborne carries less natural-hazard risk than most of Louisiana (mostly inland flooding), looks healthier within Louisiana than nationally and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Louisiana.
Its three schools are below. The Ouachita Parish school district runs its public schools. Public school enrollment in Claiborne: 1,072 students across 2 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claiborne SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 643 | A+ |
| Claiborne Christian PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 548 | – |
| George Welch Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 429 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
The average commute for its 4,985 working residents takes 19.4 minutes, against 25.7 across Louisiana.
Claiborne’s typical household income is $72,000, above Louisiana’s towns ($56,000) but below U.S. towns ($80,000). Commuting out is the norm here: 4% of working residents work locally. Employers in Claiborne added 369 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 1,807. 11% of residents live below the poverty line here.
| Claiborne | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.2% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Work from home | 9.8% | 5.6% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
January nights average 35.6°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 90% of Louisiana places with climate records; July afternoons average 93°.
For Claiborne, the midsummer high is 93°F. The town’s January low is 36°F, where Louisiana’s towns sit at 42°F and U.S. towns at 22°F. Snow almost never falls.
| Claiborne | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 93°F | 92°F | 85°F |
| January low | 36°F | 42°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 84% of Louisiana towns, with expected losses of about $190 per resident a year; that rating is what its B for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA hazard score for Claiborne comes to 36 of 100. One declared disaster, in 2020, has brought federal aid to Claiborne households. FEMA puts 48% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 20% to tornadoes. Also worth knowing: since 2011, Claiborne has seen 4 flood insurance claims paid out.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (22% statewide). 36% of Claiborne adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Claiborne | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 20% | 29% |
| Median age | 36.2 years | 37.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 24% | 22% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±8.2 points. Across Louisiana, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Claiborne | LA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.4% | 12.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19.1% | 13.3% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.5% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.5% | 11.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.8% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.8% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 12.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.5% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.9% | 20.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 2.9% | 7.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.4% | 17% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.1% | 10.1% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Within Louisiana it is healthier than 89% of the 161 graded towns: much of Louisiana scores lower on these measures. Its widest gap with Louisiana is food insecurity: 14.5% of its 9,429 adults worry about having enough food, against 22.5% statewide.
The share of adults in Claiborne who say their health is fair or poor: 18%. The town beats the Louisiana average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. Only 7 of the 161 Louisiana towns we compare have a lower share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Claiborne.
| Claiborne | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 27% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Claiborne | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 14.5% | 22.5% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 8% | 12.4% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 75.6% | 78.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Trails run 0.8 miles in 1 park or preserve. Claiborne’s concentration of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Claiborne | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge | — | 96 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes sold in Claiborne spent a median 8 days on the market. In Claiborne, the typical sale closed at 98.6% of the list price. The midpoint rent here is $1,206 a month.
| Claiborne | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,206 a month | $989 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Claiborne. Close and well known come first.
12 mi Ancient siteWatson Brake
9 mi MuseumChennault Aviation and Military Museum
4 mi GardenBiedenharn Museum and Gardens8 mi Zoo & aquariumLouisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo
26 mi TheatreDixie Center for the Arts
26 mi GardenLouisiana Tech University ArboretumWatson Brake: Herb Roe, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chennault Aviation and Military Museum: Billy Hathorn, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Biedenharn Museum and Gardens: Billy Hathorn, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dixie Center for the Arts: Billy Hathorn, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Louisiana Tech University Arboretum: Billy Hathorn, CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Claiborne
About 6 of every 100 Claiborne residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Louisiana.
Census-designated place in Louisiana, United States
Claiborne is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Claiborne had a population of 12,631. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Claiborne.
| Town | LA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claiborne | #35 | B− | C | — | A− | B− |
| West Monroe | #127 | D | C+ | D− | A− | D |
Claiborne reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Claiborne with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Claiborne grades B− overall, better than 47% of U.S. towns and #35 of 161 in Louisiana. It grades B− for health and A− for schools.
The typical home is worth about $219,000, 2% above the Louisiana typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.