Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Louisiana gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $153K, 2.8 years of the county’s $55K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 137th of 247 in Missouri. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $39K, and 32% of residents live below the poverty line, and residents are less healthy than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 12 places on the National Register. 32% of residents live below the poverty line in Louisiana, above both the Missouri town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On history, just 3 of Missouri’s 419 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Wallace Park, at 61 acres.
Where Louisiana beats most towns.
Luce-Dyer House
Census counts: 912 in 1850, a peak of 5,131 in 1900, 3,199 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1873 and 5 maps from 1937 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Louisiana is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Louisiana, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Louisiana.
Louisiana trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Against the 2,027 U.S. towns with household incomes like Louisiana’s, it is healthier than 54%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
36% of adults get no exercise outside work in Louisiana. Louisiana beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 18% of adults report frequent physical distress in Louisiana.
| Louisiana | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 30% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Louisiana | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 11.3% | 8% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4.8% | 3.6% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.9% | 6.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Louisiana R-II. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana Elem.Largest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 343 | C |
| Louisiana HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 187 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
Homes are within reach (about $153K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 27 miles. The median property tax bill is $680, against $1,948 across Missouri, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Louisiana is $645 a month. Typical home values rose 9.5% in the year to September 2026. 61% of Louisiana households own their home.
| Louisiana | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $645 a month | $972 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 61% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
174 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 14 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 76% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 174 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Louisiana.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Louisiana has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 20° and about 10 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Louisiana has about as many jobs (1,135) as working residents, but only 319 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 1,917 in 2013 to 1,135.
About one in 4 of Louisiana’s working residents works in town. Louisiana’s average trip to work is 15 minutes. Since 2013, Louisiana has lost 782 jobs, to 1,135 in 2023.
| Louisiana | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 13% | 8% |
| Median household income | $39,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 16.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 72% of Missouri’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 51 to 16 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Louisiana | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.1% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wallace Park | 0.7 mi | 61 |
| 2. Veterans Park | — | 8 |
| 3. Riverview Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Louisiana; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Louisiana residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
12 places in Louisiana on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Louisiana.
City in Pike County, Missouri, United States
Louisiana is a city in Pike County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, Louisiana had a population of 3,199. Louisiana is located in northeast Missouri, on the Mississippi River, south of Hannibal.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Louisiana.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Louisiana grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #137 of 247 in Missouri. It grades D for health, B for safety and B− for schools. Jobs & income 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.
10 notable people were born here, including George Samuel Clason and Claude Gillingwater.
