Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 96% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades C+, 52nd of 161 graded towns in Louisiana. Its schools rank ahead of 83% of Louisiana towns. On civic life, just 6 of Louisiana’s 152 towns do better. 22% of working residents work locally in Covington, against 9.8% in Louisiana’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On history, just 13 of Louisiana’s 254 towns do better.
Where Covington beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| E. E. Lyon Elementary School | PK–3 | 628 |
| Covington Elementary School | PK–3 | 551 |
| Louisiana Key Academy Northshore | K–6 | 256 |
Census counts: 585 in 1870, 11,564 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 5 maps from 1935 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Louisiana), ordered by how far Covington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Covington, 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 Covington.
Covington draws workers from Slidell and beyond and looks healthier within Louisiana than nationally, but it has seen reported crime rise by a fifth or more.
15,950 jobs are based in Covington, 3.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 5 of Covington’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Covington grew to 15,950 in 2023, 2,201 more than in 2013. Covington’s average trip to work is 28 minutes.
| Covington | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 13% | 5.6% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the St. Tammany Parish school district. Three of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine View Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 694 | B− |
| Covington High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,600 | B |
| E. E. Lyon Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 628 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
528 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 68 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 528 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Covington.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $1,900, against $1,180 across Louisiana, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Covington home is worth about $323,000, up 1.6% in a year, 51% above the Louisiana typical home. The median rent in Covington is $1,396 a month.
| Covington | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,396 a month | $989 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Within Louisiana it is healthier than 73% of the 161 graded towns: much of Louisiana scores lower on these measures.
Covington beats the Louisiana average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 33% of adults feel lonely in Covington.
| Covington | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 37% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 26% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 44% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 12% |
| What stands out | Covington | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.1% | 18.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 18.7% | 22.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.8% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Covington has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 40° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes rose from 131 to 162 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within Louisiana, it does better than 87% of towns.
| Covington | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.5 per 1,000 residents | 24.2 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 4.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.7 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Covington Recreation Complex, at 34 acres.
| Covington | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.6% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bogue Falaya Park | 0.6 mi | 14 |
| 2. Covington Recreation Complex | — | 34 |
| 3. St. Tammany Parish Fairgrounds | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Covington
About 2 of every 100 Covington residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Louisiana.
8,765 counted in 2010 and 11,564 in 2020; an estimated 11,721 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
5 places in Covington on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Covington.
City in Louisiana, United States
Covington is a city in and the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,564 at the 2020 United States census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River. Covington is part of the Slidell-Mandeville-Covington statistical area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Covington grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #52 of 161 in Louisiana. It grades C for health, B− for safety and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within Louisiana, it does better than 87% of towns.
That is 4 years of the area's median household income ($81,202 across the Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
16 notable people were born here, including Ian Somerhalder and Katherine Brooks.
