Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,286, platted in 1880.
Welsh gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $163K, 2.4 years of the Lake Charles metro’s $67K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 8th among Louisiana's 161 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 96% of the country. On the plus side, its public schools beat 85% of Louisiana towns on state tests and graduation. Welsh’s average trip to work is 32 minutes, where Louisiana’s towns sit at 24 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Among 159 Louisiana towns, just 3 have a lower median rent than Welsh. Calkins-Orvis House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Welsh beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Welsh Elementary School | PK–5 | 499 |
| Welsh High School | 9–12 | 263 |
Where Welsh’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 Welsh is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for cost of living (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 3%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 200 in 1890, 3,333 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2002 and 4 maps from 1947 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Welsh, 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 Welsh.
Welsh pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
Within Louisiana it is less healthy than 65% of the 161 graded towns: much of Louisiana scores lower on these measures.
18% of adults report frequent physical distress in Welsh. Welsh beats the Louisiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 45% of adults have high blood pressure in Welsh.
| Welsh | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 44% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 19% | 14% |
| What stands out | Welsh | LA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 11% | 8.5% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9% | 7.5% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 5.1% | 4.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A for schools comes with an A+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $163K.
Its public schools are run by the Jefferson Davis Parish school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welsh Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 499 | A− |
| Welsh High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 263 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
Since 1980, 53 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Welsh.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Welsh for work: only 9% work in town. Since 2013, Welsh has lost 99 jobs, to 575 in 2023. 11% of Welsh residents live below the poverty line.
| Welsh | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.3% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Homes are within reach (about $163K for the typical one, A+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 25 miles. At 2.4 years of the Lake Charles metro’s $67K median household income, the typical home (about $163K) costs less against local pay than in 79% of Louisiana towns; that ratio is one input to its A+ for cost of living.
The typical Welsh home is worth about $163,000, up 1.5% in a year, 24% below the Louisiana typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 42.4°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.5°. The Jennings weather station, 9 miles away, records that about 73 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 88% of Louisiana places with climate records.
Welsh has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Welsh’s January low is 42°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Welsh | 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
1.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Welsh | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 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. Sportsman Park | 0.1 mi | 17 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Welsh; the nearest are
About 10 of every 100 Welsh residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Louisiana.
4 notable people were born in Welsh.
Town in Louisiana, United States
Welsh is a town in Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, Welsh had a population of 3,333. It is part of the Jennings Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Welsh grades B+ overall, better than 69% of U.S. towns and #8 of 161 in Louisiana. It grades D− for health and A for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.
Welsh was platted in 1880 and has 1 place on the National Register of Historic Places. 4 notable people were born here, including Phillip Walker and Rolland Romero.
