Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Tallulah grades D− overall, 155th of 161 graded towns in Louisiana, mostly because of health and incomes. On CDC health estimates it is near the bottom nationally. The median household income is $33K, and 42% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: a typical home costs about $79K, 2.2 years of the county’s $35K median household income. 42% of residents live below the poverty line in Tallulah, above both Louisiana’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Its National Register listings include Shirley Field and Bloom's Arcade. Among 53 Louisiana towns, just 4 have a lower property crime rate than Tallulah.
Where Tallulah beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Scottland Plantation House| Widest gap | Tallulah | LA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 31.3% | 12.4% |
Census counts: 847 in 1910, a peak of 11,341 in 1980, 6,286 in 2020. The archive holds 15 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1909 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Louisiana), ordered by how far Tallulah is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Tallulah, 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 Tallulah.
Tallulah carries less natural-hazard risk than most of Louisiana (mostly tornadoes), but it has poverty well above the Louisiana rate and has little public open land.
54% of adults have obesity in Tallulah. Only 8 of the 161 Louisiana towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Tallulah. 55% of adults have high blood pressure in Tallulah.
| Tallulah | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 19% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 54% | 43% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 16% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 20% | 17% |
| What stands out | Tallulah | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.8% | 16.9% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.5% | 7.5% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 31.3% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Madison Parish school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tallulah Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 295 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 67 to 47 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Tallulah’s violent crime rate is 4.9 per 1,000 residents. Within Louisiana, it does better than 80% of towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Tallulah has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Tallulah is 92°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,072 working residents takes 15.9 minutes, against 25.7 across Louisiana.
About one in 3 of Tallulah’s working residents works in town. Among 161 Louisiana towns, just 6 have a lower average trip to work than Tallulah. The top destinations are Vicksburg (7%), Richmond (5%) and Monroe (4%).
| Tallulah | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 37% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $33,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 78% of Louisiana towns, with expected losses of about $447 per resident a year; that rating is what its B− for hazard risk is built on. 138 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 21 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1979, 138 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Tallulah.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Just 0 of its 1,777 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Tallulah itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Adams Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Tallulah. Close and well known come first.
20 mi National MonumentPoverty Point National Monument
19 mi MuseumUSS Cairo
31 mi ParkwayNatchez Trace Parkway8.0M visitors a year
16 mi National Military ParkVicksburg National Military Park410K visitors a year
19 mi MuseumThe Old Courthouse Museum
19 mi MuseumLower Mississippi River MuseumPoverty Point National Monument: Unknown, Public domain · USS Cairo: Katyrw, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Natchez Trace Parkway: Carol M. Highsmith (1946–), Public domain · Vicksburg National Military Park: Eoghanacht at English Wikipedia, Public domain · The Old Courthouse Museum: David.rorick, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lower Mississippi River Museum: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
None within 15 miles of Tallulah; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Tallulah residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Louisiana.
7,335 counted in 2010 and 6,286 in 2020; an estimated 5,517 in 2025.
The decline has continued: down 12.4% since 2020, after 14.3% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
10 places in Tallulah on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Tallulah.
Location in Madison Parish
Tallulah ( tə-LOO-lə) is a city in and the parish seat of Madison Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,286, down from 7,335 in 2010. As this was historically a center of agriculture since the antebellum years, producing cotton and pecans, Tallulah and the parish have long had majority-African American populations. The small city is now nearly 77 percent African American; the surrounding parish is 60 percent black. Mechanization and industrial agriculture have reduced the number of jobs, and many residents have moved since the mid-20th century to larger cities with more opportunities. Tallulah is the principal city of the Tallulah Micro…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Tallulah.
Richmond isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Tallulah with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Tallulah grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #155 of 161 in Louisiana. It grades D− for health, C for safety and C− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within Louisiana, it does better than 80% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
10 notable people were born here, including James Silas and Jimmy Jones.
.jpg){kind=link}