Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Gonzales grades C overall, 90th of 161 graded towns in Louisiana, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools outperform 91% of the state's. On the other side, its police reported 74 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 94% of U.S. towns. Gonzales is home to River Parishes Community College. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 86% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Only 8 of the 159 Louisiana towns we compare have a higher median rent than Gonzales.
Where Gonzales beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Pecan Grove Primary School | PK–5 | 508 |
| Gonzales Primary School | PK–5 | 455 |
| Gonzales Middle School | 6–8 | 664 |
9,781 counted in 2010 and 12,231 in 2020; an estimated 13,930 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 15.2% since 2020, after 25% 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 Gonzales is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 462 in 1930, 12,231 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 6 maps from 1892 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gonzales, 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 Gonzales.
Gonzales has schools in the top 5% of Louisiana, draws workers from Prairieville and beyond and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
Reported crimes fell from 770 to 528 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
At 31.8 per 1,000 residents, Gonzales’ property crime rate is where Louisiana’s towns sit at 23.7 and U.S. towns at 9.9. The violent crime rate in Gonzales is 5.2 per 1,000 residents. Gonzales reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 94% report less.
| Gonzales | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 31.8 per 1,000 residents | 23.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.2 per 1,000 residents | 4.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its A ranks #3 of the 162 Louisiana towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Ascension Parish school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is East Ascension High School, with 1,894 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzales Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 664 | C+ |
| East Ascension High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,894 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
11,068 jobs are based in Gonzales, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Gonzales for work: only 13% work in town. 9% of residents live below the poverty line in Gonzales, below Louisiana’s towns (20%) and close to U.S. towns (9.6%). Jobs based in Gonzales grew to 11,068 in 2023, 684 more than in 2013.
| Gonzales | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 9% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Work from home | 7.7% | 5.6% | 11% |
| Median household income | $75,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
563 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 72 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1979, 563 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Gonzales.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Home values rose 27% in five years, to about $293K, against 1% across Louisiana.
The typical Gonzales home is worth about $293,000, up 3.5% in a year, 37% above the Louisiana typical home. 64% of Gonzales households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Within Louisiana it is healthier than 74% of the 161 graded towns: much of Louisiana scores lower on these measures.
Gonzales beats the Louisiana average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 43% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Gonzales.
| Gonzales | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 42% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 26% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 44% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 12% |
| What stands out | Gonzales | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 6.8% | 8.5% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 6.1% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 41.7°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.6°.
Gonzales has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Gonzales’ January low is 42°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Gonzales | 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
1.8 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Gonzales Municipal Park, at 27 acres.
| Gonzales | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tee-Joe Gonzales Park | 0.5 mi | 16 |
| 2. Gonzales Municipal Park | — | 27 |
| 3. George Washington Carver Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Louisiana average. Gonzales has grown 15% since 2020, to 13,930 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 27% across Louisiana.
| Gonzales | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 21% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 28% | 20% | 29% |
| Median age | 38.9 years | 37.8 years | 40.5 years |
54% women, 46% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.8 points. Across Louisiana, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Gonzales | LA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.2% | 12.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.6% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.8% | 13.3% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.3% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.4% | 11.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.1% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.1% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.7% | 12.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.1% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.7% | 20.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.5% | 7.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.4% | 17% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.7% | 10.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Gonzales. Close and well known come first.
21 mi Stadium & arenaTiger Stadium
23 mi MuseumUSS Kidd
20 mi MuseumWhitney Plantation Historic District11 mi Theme parkBlue Bayou and Dixie Landin'
21 mi Stadium & arenaPete Maravich Assembly Center28 mi Museum1811 Kid Ory Historic HouseTiger Stadium: Daniel Foster, CC BY-SA 2.0 · USS Kidd: Cobatfor, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Whitney Plantation Historic District: Bill Leiser, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pete Maravich Assembly Center: Spatms, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Gonzales
About 6 of every 100 Gonzales residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Louisiana.
3 notable people were born in Gonzales.
City in Louisiana, United States
Gonzales is a city in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 12,231. Known as the "Jambalaya Capital of the World", it is famous for its annual Jambalaya Festival, which was first held in 1968.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Gonzales grades C overall, better than 25% of U.S. towns and #90 of 161 in Louisiana. It grades C for health, D for safety and A for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Louisiana, it does better than 40% of towns.
That is 4.2 years of the area's median household income ($69,599 across the Baton Rouge, 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 B−.
3 notable people were born here, including Alicia Morton and Jeff Daigle.
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