WelcomeLA
A town of 796, settled in 1872.
Is Welcome a good place to live?
Welcome’s typical journey to work is 36 minutes, above both the Louisiana town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Among 162 Louisiana towns, just one has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Welcome. Welcome has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
796 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Moving to Welcome: who provides what
Welcome is unincorporated, so St. James Parish and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Welcome.
Welcome has a very high natural-hazard risk, chiefly from hurricanes
Welcome’s FEMA risk score is 88 of 100. 61% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from hurricanes, followed by drought at 19%.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most of Welcome’s workers commute out: the town has 0.0 jobs for each of them
For half of commuters, work is under 24 miles away. Welcome: 16% of residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Lutcher (6%), Baton Rouge (6%) and Gonzales (5%).
| Welcome | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
A larger share of adults in Welcome have obesity than in the typical Louisiana or U.S. town
43% of adults worry about having enough food in Welcome. Only 4 of the 162 Louisiana towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Welcome. Against the Louisiana average, Welcome comes out ahead on 4 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 20.
| Welcome | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 27% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 55% | 43% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 16% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 34% | 25% |
| What stands out | Welcome | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.6% | 16.9% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.6% | 7.5% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 25.8% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Welcome
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Welcome
About 11 of every 100 Welcome residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Louisiana.
100% of working residents leave Welcome for work
Where Welcome’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Welcome
Place in Louisiana, United States
Welcome is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in St. James Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Welcome had a population of 672. The community is located along Louisiana Highway 18 on the west bank of the Mississippi River.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 5.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 20 ft
Questions about Welcome
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Welcome, LA a good place to live?
Welcome has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.