Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Marksville earns a D−, 147th of 161 graded towns in Louisiana, mostly because of safety and health. Its police reported 61 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 99% of U.S. towns. On CDC estimates, its residents' health ranks in the bottom 2% nationally. It also has a long history, with 6 places on the National Register. 35% of residents live below the poverty line in Marksville, above both Louisiana’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 7 of Louisiana’s 254 towns score higher on history. The median household income is $36K, and 35% of residents live below the poverty line.
Where Marksville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Marksville Prehistoric Indian SiteMarksville Prehistoric Indian Site is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 437 in 1870, 5,065 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1825 and 3 maps from 1940 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 Marksville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Marksville, 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 Marksville.
Marksville carries less natural-hazard risk than most of Louisiana (mostly hurricanes) and draws workers from Bunkie and beyond, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Louisiana rate.
Violent crime runs at 12.9 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Louisiana rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Property crime runs at 37.5 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Louisiana rate, most of it theft.
Marksville reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 99% report less. The violent crime rate in Marksville is 12.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Marksville | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.9 per 1,000 residents | 4.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 37.5 per 1,000 residents | 23.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Avoyelles Parish school district. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Marksville High School, with 640 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marksville Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 625 | C |
| Marksville High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 640 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
Marksville beats the Louisiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 50% of Marksville adults have high blood pressure.
| Marksville | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 50% | 44% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 26% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 19% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 27% | 19% |
| What stands out | Marksville | LA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 28.3% | 18.1% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 18.6% | 12.4% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 16.7% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
3,395 jobs are based in Marksville, 2.2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 34 minutes, against 25.7 across Louisiana.
About one in 4 of Marksville’s working residents works in town. Marksville’s average trip to work is 34 minutes. Jobs based in Marksville fell to 3,395 in 2023, 431 fewer than in 2013.
| Marksville | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 28% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $36,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical value, about $134K, is 26% below its September 2020 peak. At about $134K, home values are down 15% in five years, against a rise of 1% across Louisiana.
The typical Marksville home is worth about $134,000, up 4.1% in a year, 38% below the Louisiana typical home. 59% of households own their home in Marksville. Only 9 of the 159 Louisiana towns we compare have a lower median rent than Marksville.
| Marksville | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $670 a month | $992 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 59% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Marksville has mild winters and hot 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
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 83% of Louisiana towns; that rating is what its B for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1979, 49 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Marksville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Marksville; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Marksville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Louisiana.
5,702 counted in 2010 and 5,065 in 2020; an estimated 4,744 in 2025.
The decline has continued: down 6.4% since 2020, after 11.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
5 places in Marksville on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Marksville.
City in Louisiana, United States
Marksville is a small city in and the parish seat of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Marksville had a population of 5,065. Louisiana's first land-based casino, Paragon Casino Resort, opened in Marksville in June 1994. It is operated by the federally recognized Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe, which has a reservation in the parish.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Marksville.
| Town | LA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marksville | #147 | D− | C+ | D− | B+ | D− |
| Mansura | — | — | B− | — | B+ | D− |
Mansura has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Mansura reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Marksville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Marksville grades D− overall, better than 5% of U.S. towns and #147 of 161 in Louisiana. It grades D− for health, D− for safety and B+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3.4 years of the area's median household income ($39,325 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
12 notable people were born here, including Little Walter and Elaine Edwards.
