Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,094, settled in 1806.
Donaldsonville gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $176K for a typical one, or 2.5 years of the Baton Rouge metro’s $70K median household income. It grades C overall, ranked 64th of 161 in Louisiana. The low prices come with trade-offs. On CDC estimates, its residents' health ranks in the bottom 2% nationally, and the median household income is $24K, and 45% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 91% of Louisiana towns. 45% of residents live below the poverty line in Donaldsonville, above both the Louisiana town median (20%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 2 of Louisiana’s 152 towns score lower on civic life. Donaldsonville has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Palo Alto Plantation and Landry Tomb.
Where Donaldsonville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Donaldsonville High School | 9–12 | 396 |
| Ascension Catholic Diocesan Regional School | PK–12 | 434 |
| Widest gap | Donaldsonville | LA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 21.6% | 12.4% |
Census counts: 1,475 in 1860, 6,695 in 2020. The archive holds 23 old photos and papers going back to 1839 and 5 maps from 1939 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 Donaldsonville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Donaldsonville, 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 Donaldsonville.
Donaldsonville pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, draws workers from Prairieville and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
9.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Donaldsonville’s trail density is 2.4 miles per square mile. More trails than any other town in Louisiana.
| Donaldsonville | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.4 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.4% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Louisiana Square | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $176K. Its A ranks #3 of the 162 Louisiana towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Ascension Parish school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Donaldsonville High School, with 396 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donaldsonville High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 396 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
Against the 174 U.S. towns with household incomes like Donaldsonville’s, it is less healthy than 63%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
Donaldsonville beats the Louisiana average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 21% of adults have diabetes in Donaldsonville. Among 161 Louisiana towns, just 1 have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Donaldsonville.
| Donaldsonville | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 49% | 42% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 53% | 44% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 26% | 14% |
| What stands out | Donaldsonville | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.2% | 16.9% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.5% | 7.5% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 21.6% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
5,150 jobs are based in Donaldsonville, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Only 3 of the 160 Louisiana towns we compare have a lower median household income than Donaldsonville. 16% of Donaldsonville working residents work locally. Jobs based in Donaldsonville fell to 5,150 in 2023, 349 fewer than in 2013.
| Donaldsonville | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $24,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 41 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Donaldsonville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 42.3°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.5°.
Donaldsonville has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The January low in Donaldsonville is 42°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Donaldsonville | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 42°F | 42°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 92°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 2.5 years of the Baton Rouge metro’s $70K median household income, the typical home (about $176K) costs less against local pay than in 76% of Louisiana towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. The typical value, about $176K, is 7% below its March 2025 peak.
The typical Donaldsonville home is worth about $176,000, up 3.3% in a year, 18% below the Louisiana typical home.
| Donaldsonville | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 46% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $827 a month | $992 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Donaldsonville
About 6 of every 100 Donaldsonville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Louisiana.
Where Donaldsonville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 places in Donaldsonville on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Donaldsonville.
City in Louisiana, United States
Donaldsonville (historically French: Lafourche-des-Chitimachas) is a city in, and the parish seat of Ascension Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located along the River Road of the west bank of the Mississippi River, it is a part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. At the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 6,695. Donaldsonville's historic district has what has been described as the finest collection of buildings from the antebellum era to 1933, of any of the Louisiana river towns above New Orleans. Union forces attacked the city, occupying it and several of the river parishes beginning in 1862. Fort Butler was built on the west bank of the Mississippi River. The for…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Donaldsonville grades C overall, better than 33% of U.S. towns and #64 of 161 in Louisiana. It grades D− for health and A for schools, and has the most trail per square mile in the state. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
14 notable people were born here, including Francis T. Nicholls and Plas Johnson.
