Town · Lafayette Parish, Louisiana

Duson, Louisiana

Duson is a town in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, part of the Lafayette, LA metro area. It has 1,282 residents. Duson, Louisiana has a quality-of-life score of 9 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,204 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Louisiana it ranks #119 of 262 cities and towns. It ranks best on pharmacies (high), distance to an Amtrak station (low) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on median household income (low), poverty rate (high) and child poverty rate (high).

9Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,204 of 15,651 cities and towns
Louisiana: #119 of 262 in LA
Population: 1,282 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 428.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 2222255

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety5#14,872/15,637
Economy4#14,982/15,631
Housing29#10,597/14,977
Health15#13,258/15,609
Healthcare70#4,721/15,650
Environment18#12,660/15,453
Education4#14,955/15,649
Infrastructure6#14,785/15,650
Community11#13,908/15,651
Leisure & amenities94#904/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Duson, Louisiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lafayette Parish value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Pharmacies · high3.4 /10k
98/100Louisiana 2.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLafayette Parish value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low5 mi
95/100Louisiana 30 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauLafayette Parish value
Effective property tax rate · low0.39%
94/100Louisiana 0.55%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
New business applications · high20.6 /1k
91/100Louisiana 16.4 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauLafayette Parish value
Restaurants and bars · high12.8 /10k
90/100Louisiana 11.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLafayette Parish value
Mammography screening · high54.0%
88/100Louisiana 48.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLafayette Parish value

Weaknesses

Median household income · low$25,054
1/100Louisiana $61,038United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Poverty rate · high39.3%
1/100Louisiana 18.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Child poverty rate · high52.6%
2/100Louisiana 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Violent crime rate · high726 /100k
2/100Louisiana 515 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationLafayette Parish value
Loneliness · high38.9%
5/100Louisiana 37.4%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Adult smoking · high22.3%
6/100Louisiana 20.0%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
1,712 (2015-2019) → 1,282 (2020-2024)
−25%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
74.9% (2015-2019) → 54.3% (2020-2024)
−21 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
62.8% (2015-2019) → 82.0% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
34.7% (2015-2019) → 52.6% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateWorsening
27.0% (2015-2019) → 39.3% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
1.0% (2015-2019) → 11.1% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Duson, Louisiana improved on 1 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+19 points62.8% → 82.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Duson, Louisiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.7 min2015-2019	25.3 min2020-2024	−5.5 min	Within the margin of error	92%
Broadband subscriptions	62.8%2015-2019	82.0%2020-2024	+19 points	Improved	89%
Child poverty rate	34.7%2015-2019	52.6%2020-2024	+18 points	Within the margin of error	6%
High school diploma or higher	64.7%2015-2019	58.4%2020-2024	−6.3 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	−0.7×	Within the margin of error	96%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4702015-2019	0.4742020-2024	+0.004	Within the margin of error	47%
Median household income	$27,6042015-2019	$25,0542020-2024	−9.2%	Within the margin of error	3%
Poverty rate	27.0%2015-2019	39.3%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	2%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.7%2015-2019	10.3%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Within the margin of error	84%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Duson, Louisiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Duson, Louisiana in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Duson, Louisiana itself moved +10.7 points in standing on average over the same 6 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,282 residents (±427)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

518 households (±133)

Duson, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $25k50%†258
$25k–50k27%†139
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

518 households (±133)

Duson, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Own62%†323
Rent38%†195

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

373 workers (±133)

Duson, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Drive alone70%†261
Carpool19%†70
Public transit

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Lafayette, LA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Lafayette Parish, the county holding most of Duson's residents.

Lafayette Parish has 8,844 employer establishments, 353 for every 10,000 residents (1.42× the US rate of 248; 1.49× Louisiana's), with 132,799 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,889. The Census Bureau also counts 29,026 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 8,844; 29,026 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 353; US 248 · Louisiana 236
Paid employees: 132,799
Average annual pay: $56,889; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Lafayette Parish by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	1,006	40.1	1.93×More than typical	12,882	$62,230	1,926
Restaurants and other eating places	557	22.2	1.21×About typical	12,902	$19,594	168
Legal services	422	16.8	3.13×More than typical	1,756	$82,566	349
Specialty trade contractors	416	16.6	1.07×About typical	4,529	$59,620	1,824
Offices of physicians	395	15.8	2.43×More than typical	2,790	$94,325	414
Lessors of real estate	393	15.7	1.27×More than typical	1,237	$46,207	3,096
Offices of other health practitioners	301	12	1.98×More than typical	1,552	$42,870	700
Management, scientific and technical consulting	259	10.3	1.54×More than typical	904	$75,935	938
Limited-service restaurants	256	10.2	1.27×More than typical	5,037	$18,148	74
Full-service restaurants	219	8.7	1.14×About typical	6,903	$20,872	40
Architectural, engineering and related services	211	8.4	2.41×More than typical	2,575	$84,244	313
Construction of buildings	191	7.6	1.01×About typical	1,537	$74,764	659

Rank places for an industry Open Lafayette Parish

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 250,714 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated -$0.01 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Duson, Louisiana: -$0.00 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$0.01; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$0.00; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

BREE LANDRY-$0.010.0%

Spending by fiscal year

1.5KFY2017
124.3FY2019
2KFY2021
866.2FY2024
2.1KFY2025
-0FY2026

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Duson, Louisiana, so they do not add up across cities.

Duson, Louisiana's figures are part of those of Lafayette Parish, LA and Acadia Parish, LA ($47.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Duson is mostly in Lafayette Parish.

See federal money in Lafayette Parish

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Duson, Louisiana is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Lafayette, LA31

Other cities and towns in Lafayette Parish

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2222255

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends