Scores by category

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

Safety12#13,812/15,637
Economy3#15,169/15,631
Housing18#12,323/14,977
Health15#13,271/15,609
Healthcare31#10,799/15,650
Environment32#10,542/15,453
Education30#11,026/15,649
Infrastructure1#15,534/15,650
Community6#14,711/15,651
Leisure & amenities31#10,729/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Grambling, Louisiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lincoln 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

Injury deaths · low61 /100k
87/100Louisiana 121 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln Parish value
Job growth · high1.7%
86/100Louisiana -0.5%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLincoln Parish value
Mental health providers · high485 /100k
84/100Louisiana 365 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln Parish value
Effective property tax rate · low0.55%
83/100Louisiana 0.55%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Social associations · high13.1 /10k
83/100Louisiana 9.4 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln Parish value
New homes permitted · high6.6 /1k
81/100Louisiana 2.8 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data

Weaknesses

Broadband subscriptions · low42.4%
0/100Louisiana 86.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Poverty rate · high52.4%
0/100Louisiana 18.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Median household income · low$17,670
0/100Louisiana $61,038United States $81,6042019-2023U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Adult obesity · high55.7%
0/100Louisiana 42.3%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Dental care shortage · high22.0
0/100Louisiana 13.9United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLincoln Parish value
Mental health care shortage · high20.0
1/100Louisiana 15.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLincoln Parish value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsWorsening
83.7% (2015-2019) → 42.4% (2020-2024)
−41 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
5.1× (2015-2019) → 10.0× (2019-2023)
+94%4 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 3.9×
Child poverty rateImproving
67.4% (2015-2019) → 52.5% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateWorsening
38.9% (2015-2019) → 52.4% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
15.0% (2015-2019) → 4.0% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
41.9% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+9.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Grambling, Louisiana improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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

Uninsured−11 points15.0% → 4.0%

Declined2

Broadband−41 points83.7% → 42.4%
Rent / income+9.1 points41.9% → 51.0%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Grambling, Louisiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.3 min2015-2019	20.3 min2020-2024	−7.0 min	Within the margin of error	95%
Bachelor's degree or higher	39.6%2015-2019	35.4%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Broadband subscriptions	83.7%2015-2019	42.4%2020-2024	−41 points	Declined	0%
Child poverty rate	67.4%2015-2019	52.5%2020-2024	−15 points	Within the margin of error	89%
High school diploma or higher	95.1%2015-2019	89.3%2020-2024	−5.7 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5222015-2019	0.5622020-2024	+0.039	Within the margin of error	21%
Poverty rate	38.9%2015-2019	52.4%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	2%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	41.9%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+9.1 points	Declined	11%
Rent-burdened households	75.9%2015-2019	78.3%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.0%2015-2019	4.0%2020-2024	−11 points	Improved	97%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 10944 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 Grambling, Louisiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Grambling, 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, Grambling, Louisiana itself moved −10.9 points in standing on average over the same 7 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

5,287 residents (±14)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 10–19 women (+8.3 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

5,287 residents (±14)

Grambling, Louisiana
Louisiana share

White8.4%†444
Black83%4,372
Hispanic or Latino4.6%†243

Education

1,859 residents (±281)

Grambling, Louisiana
Louisiana share

No high school diploma11%†198
High school or GED27%†500
Some college16%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

1,633 households (±324)

Grambling, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $25k56%†916
$25k–50k21%†345
$50k–75k9.4%†153
$75k–100k3.4%†55
$100k–150k9.9%†161
$150k–200k0.0%0
$200k or more0.2%†3

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,633 households (±324)

Grambling, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Own31%†509
Rent69%1,124

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

981 households (±327)

Grambling, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $75072%†703
$750–1,0006.7%†66
$1,000–1,50022%†212

Home values

509 homes (±155)

Grambling, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $150k42%†214
$150k–250k48%†242
$250k–400k10%†53

Age of homes

2,004 homes (±336)

Grambling, Louisiana
Louisiana share

2010 or later2.0%†41
2000–20092.4%†49
1980–199930%†593

Size of homes

2,004 homes (±336)

Grambling, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom8.6%†173
2 bedrooms44%†879

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,522 workers (±311)

Grambling, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Drive alone57%†864
Carpool9.6%†146
Public transit0.0%0
Walk6.1%†93
Bike0.3%†4
Work from home25%†374
Other2.7%†41

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−24.5 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,148 workers (±305)

Grambling, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under 15 min51%†584
15–29 min36%†418
30–44 min6.9%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Ruston, 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 Lincoln Parish, the county holding most of Grambling's residents.

Lincoln Parish has 1,155 employer establishments, 240 for every 10,000 residents (0.97× the US rate of 248; 1.02× Louisiana's), with 15,124 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,395. The Census Bureau also counts 3,844 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,155; 3,844 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 240; US 248 · Louisiana 236
Paid employees: 15,124
Average annual pay: $42,395; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	115	23.9	1.15×About typical	1,046	$49,080	238
Restaurants and other eating places	87	18.1	0.98×About typical	1,890	$17,344	21
Lessors of real estate	62	12.9	1.05×About typical	298	$37,748	430
Religious organizations	55	11.4	2.06×More than typical	594	$21,800	—
Specialty trade contractors	53	11	0.71×Fewer than typical	468	$52,222	190
Offices of other health practitioners	50	10.4	1.71×More than typical	331	$39,970	107
Limited-service restaurants	41	8.5	1.06×About typical	1,036	$17,661	5
Full-service restaurants	29	6	0.78×Fewer than typical	674	$17,660	9
Construction of buildings	27	5.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	184	$64,772	71
Building equipment contractors	26	5.4	0.90×About typical	295	$50,261	40
Offices of physicians	26	5.4	0.83×About typical	231	$59,680	53
Insurance agencies and brokerages	25	5.2	1.18×About typical	140	$54,286	74

Rank places for an industry Open Lincoln Parish

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 48,112 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 $144K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Grambling, Louisiana: $27.23 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $144K
Per resident: $27.23; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

National Institutes of Health$144K100%

Top recipients

GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY$144K100%

Spending by fiscal year

1.9KFY2019
2.6KFY2020
144KFY2026

What was bought

Education & social services$144K100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Colleges, universities, and professional schools · 6113$144K100%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Grambling, Louisiana

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH) GATEWAY TO RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE WORKFORCE (GROW) PROGRAM - RLIS (UNDERGRADUATE TRACK)$150.8K
GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY· Lincoln Parish, LA· Education & social services· Jul 22, 2026 – Jul 22, 2026· 75N98026P01039

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Grambling, Louisiana, so they do not add up across cities.

Grambling, Louisiana's figures are part of those of Lincoln Parish, LA ($1.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 9.1% of that total.

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

See federal money in Lincoln 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.

Grambling, Louisiana is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Mike JohnsonR-LA-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.0%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

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

Lincoln Parish11100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Ruston, LA14

Other cities and towns in Lincoln 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/2230515