Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,194, settled in 1890.
Sunset grades C− overall, 101st of 161 graded towns in Louisiana, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 94% of the country. It also does better than most on schools: its schools rank ahead of 60% of Louisiana towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $61K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $213K, 4.8 years of the Opelousas area’s $44K median household income. Sunset's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 91% of U.S. towns. Sunset has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Chretien Point Plantation and Sunset High School. Among 161 Louisiana towns, just 5 have a lower share of residents 65 or older than Sunset.
Where Sunset’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 Sunset is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 377 in 1910, 2,909 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1926 and 4 maps from 1957 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sunset, 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 Sunset.
Sunset has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, looks healthier within Louisiana than nationally and has home values still below their peak.
Within Louisiana it is less healthy than 56% of the 161 graded towns: much of Louisiana scores lower on these measures.
21% of adults smoke cigarettes in Sunset. Sunset: 40% of adults feel lonely, against 37% in Louisiana’s towns and 33% across U.S. towns. Among adults locally, 30% say their health is fair or poor and 29% worry about having enough food.
| Sunset | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 33% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 27% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 44% | 35% |
| What stands out | Sunset | LA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 28.6% | 22.5% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 14.2% | 11.3% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 21.1% | 16.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The St. Landry Parish school district runs its public schools. One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 348 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
The average commute for its 988 working residents takes 33.4 minutes, against 25.7 across Louisiana.
Sunset: 2.8% of working residents work locally, where Louisiana’s towns sit at 9.8% and U.S. towns at 8%. The typical journey to work in the town is 33 minutes. Jobs based in Sunset grew to 535 in 2023, 120 more than in 2013. Half of commuters travel less than 16 miles.
| Sunset | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.8% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Households in Sunset have drawn federal disaster aid in 10 declared disasters, most recently in 2026. On expected storm and flood damage, Sunset sits above 71% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, Sunset has seen 25 flood insurance claims paid out. Expected losses in Sunset break down as 44% from inland flooding and 19% from hurricanes.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 41.3°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.6°.
It almost never snows. For Sunset, the January low is 41°F.
| Sunset | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 41°F | 42°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 92°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Here, 20% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 27% in Louisiana as a whole. People 65 and older are 9% of residents (17% statewide); children under 18 are 30% of residents (24% statewide). Since 2020, Sunset has grown 8.2%, to 3,194 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. The town’s midpoint age is 34.2 years.
| Sunset | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 34.2 years | 37.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 20% | 20% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.8 points. Across Louisiana, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Sunset | LA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 20.6% | 12.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19.6% | 13.3% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17.5% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.2% | 11.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.2% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.8% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 2.5% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 16.7% | 12.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.9% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.6% | 20.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.9% | 7.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.6% | 17% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.3% | 10.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,200, single groups can be off by several points
The typical value, about $213K, is 8% below its June 2023 peak. The median property tax bill is $549, against $1,180 across Louisiana, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
A home in Sunset typically sold within 98 days of listing. Typical home values rose 4% in the year to September 2026. The typical rent for Sunset comes to $860 a month.
| Sunset | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $860 a month | $992 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Sunset
About 9 of every 100 Sunset residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Louisiana.
2 places in Sunset on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Louisiana, United States
Sunset is a town in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Sunset had a population of 2,909. It is part of the Opelousas–Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Sunset.
| Town | LA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset | #101 | C− | B− | — | B | D |
| Grand Coteau | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Sunset reports no FBI crime data of its own. Grand Coteau isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sunset with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sunset grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #101 of 161 in Louisiana. It grades D for health and B for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
2 notable people were born here, including Gib Guilbeau and Ray Sibille.
