City · Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana

Houma, Louisiana

Houma is a city in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, part of the Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA metro area. It has 32,392 residents. Houma, Louisiana has a quality-of-life score of 19 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,703 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Louisiana it ranks #53 of 262 cities and towns. It ranks best on pharmacies (high), effective property tax rate (low) and comfortable days (high). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), child poverty rate (high) and social associations (low).

19Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,703 of 15,651 cities and towns
Louisiana: #53 of 262 in LA
Population: 32,392 (2020-2024)
Land area: 14 mi²
Density: 2,239.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 2236255

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety18#12,772/15,637
Economy29#11,137/15,631
Housing22#11,681/14,977
Health9#14,179/15,609
Healthcare54#7,196/15,650
Environment58#6,560/15,453
Education19#12,600/15,649
Infrastructure42#9,022/15,650
Community8#14,447/15,651
Leisure & amenities64#5,692/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Houma, Louisiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Terrebonne 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 · high2.9 /10k
95/100Louisiana 2.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTerrebonne Parish value
Effective property tax rate · low0.39%
94/100Louisiana 0.55%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Comfortable days · high34.2%
94/100Louisiana 29.3%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationTerrebonne Parish value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Louisiana 1United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTerrebonne Parish value
Average commute time · low19.7 min
86/100Louisiana 25.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Restaurants and bars · high11.4 /10k
85/100Louisiana 11.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTerrebonne Parish value

Weaknesses

Natural hazard risk · high95.3
5/100Louisiana 71.72025Federal Emergency Management AgencyTerrebonne Parish value
Child poverty rate · high21.0%
7/100Louisiana 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Social associations · low5.2 /10k
7/100Louisiana 9.4 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTerrebonne Parish value
Voter turnout · low53.7%
9/100Louisiana 59.2%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionTerrebonne Parish value
Rent as share of income · high35.1%
9/100Louisiana 32.8%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Frequent mental distress · high21.3%
9/100Louisiana 21.3%United States 18.6%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.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.9% (2015-2019) → 89.4% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
33.0% (2015-2019) → 21.0% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
23.8% (2015-2019) → 16.3% (2020-2024)
−7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$42,949 (2015-2019) → $58,194 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
12.5% (2015-2019) → 6.8% (2020-2024)
−5.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
60.9% (2015-2019) → 55.6% (2020-2024)
−5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Houma, Louisiana improved on 8 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 6 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.

Improved8

Unemployment−3.4 points6.7% → 3.3%
Poverty−7.5 points23.8% → 16.3%
Uninsured−5.7 points12.5% → 6.8%
Inequality−0.0710.546 → 0.475
Child poverty−12 points33.0% → 21.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Houma, Louisiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.1 min2015-2019	19.7 min2020-2024	−3.3 min	Within the margin of error	81%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.3%2015-2019	23.8%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Improved	63%
Broadband subscriptions	75.9%2015-2019	89.4%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	75%
Child poverty rate	33.0%2015-2019	21.0%2020-2024	−12 points	Improved	85%
Effective property tax rate	0.45%2015-2019	0.39%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	27%
High school diploma or higher	83.8%2015-2019	88.9%2020-2024	+5 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Home price to income ratio	3.7×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	84%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5462015-2019	0.4752020-2024	−0.071	Improved	91%
Median household income	$42,9492015-2019	$58,1942020-2024	+35%	Improved	66%
Poverty rate	23.8%2015-2019	16.3%2020-2024	−7.5 points	Improved	88%
Rent as share of income	35.7%2015-2019	35.1%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	60.9%2015-2019	55.6%2020-2024	−5.3 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Unemployment rate	6.7%2015-2019	3.3%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Improved	91%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.5%2015-2019	6.8%2020-2024	−5.7 points	Improved	89%

“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 Houma, Louisiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Houma, 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, Houma, Louisiana itself moved +10.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

32,392 residents (±78)

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

13,346 households (±646)

Houma, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $25k20%2,655
$25k–50k25%3,333
$50k–75k14%1,862

Homes

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

Owners and renters

13,346 households (±646)

Houma, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Own72%9,660
Rent28%3,686

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+7.6 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

13,848 workers (±903)

Houma, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Drive alone80%11,117
Carpool12%†1,651
Public transit0.4%†55

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 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, 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 Terrebonne Parish, the county holding most of Houma's residents.

Terrebonne Parish has 2,598 employer establishments, 249 for every 10,000 residents (1.00× the US rate of 248; 1.06× Louisiana's), with 41,983 paid employees at an average annual pay of $61,362. The Census Bureau also counts 8,621 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,598; 8,621 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 249; US 248 · Louisiana 236
Paid employees: 41,983
Average annual pay: $61,362; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	207	19.8	0.95×About typical	2,266	$74,188	365
Restaurants and other eating places	171	16.4	0.89×About typical	3,739	$19,249	48
Specialty trade contractors	137	13.1	0.85×About typical	1,247	$57,311	606
Lessors of real estate	83	8	0.65×Fewer than typical	168	$37,458	719
Limited-service restaurants	82	7.9	0.98×About typical	1,712	$17,155	15
Building equipment contractors	73	7	1.16×About typical	689	$52,875	128
Gasoline stations	68	6.5	2.01×More than typical	498	$24,534	5
Offices of physicians	67	6.4	0.99×About typical	1,084	$96,089	65
Legal services	64	6.1	1.14×About typical	207	$62,502	68
Full-service restaurants	60	5.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	1,658	$21,693	20
Services to buildings and dwellings	60	5.8	0.85×About typical	430	$36,156	664
Insurance agencies and brokerages	57	5.5	1.24×About typical	348	$82,020	165

Rank places for an industry Open Terrebonne Parish

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 104,298 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 $13.9M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Houma, Louisiana: $428 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $13.9M; +24% vs FY2025
Per resident: $428; US $1,994
Sole-source: 1.6%; US 30%
Single offer: 2.2%; 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

Department of the Navy$9.4M68%
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration$2.4M17%
U.S. Coast Guard$1.3M9.3%
Department of the Army$476.8K3.4%
Defense Logistics Agency$169.3K1.2%
Agricultural Research Service$59.7K0.4%
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement$32.8K0.2%
Public Buildings Service$5,6670.0%

Top recipients

BOLLINGER SHIPYARDS LOCKPORT, L.L.C.$9.4M68%
THOMA-SEA MARINE CONSTRUCTORS, L.L.C.$4.1M29%
ENVIRONMENTAL, SAFETY & HEALTH CONSULTING SERVICES, INC.$151.1K1.1%
BLUEWATER MANAGEMENT GROUP LLC$67.1K0.5%
SEPARATOR SPARES & EQUIPMENT LLC$61.8K0.4%

Spending by fiscal year

2MFY2017
7.6MFY2018
17MFY2019
13.9MFY2020
5.3MFY2021
3.2MFY2022
35.3MFY2023
5.7M

Top industries (NAICS)

Ship and boat building · 3366$13.4M97%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$151.1K1.1%
Traveler accommodation · 7211$63.7K0.5%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$52.7K0.4%
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339$45.8K0.3%
Boiler, tank, and shipping container manufacturing · 3324$43.7K0.3%

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 Houma, Louisiana, so they do not add up across cities.

Houma, Louisiana's figures are part of those of Terrebonne Parish, LA ($168.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 8.2% of that total.

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

See federal money in Terrebonne 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.

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

House

Clay HigginsR-LA-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.7%

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.

Terrebonne Parish33100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA32

Other cities and towns in Terrebonne 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
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/2236255

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends