Town · Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana

Independence, Louisiana

Independence is a town in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, part of the Hammond, LA metro area. It has 2,207 residents. Independence, Louisiana has a quality-of-life score of 1 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,426 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Louisiana it ranks #215 of 262 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), time spent in the emergency room (low) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on math scores (low), reading scores (low) and loneliness (high).

1Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,426 of 15,651 cities and towns
Louisiana: #215 of 262 in LA
Population: 2,207 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 911.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 2237025

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.

Safety2#15,314/15,637
Economy2#15,262/15,631
Housing20#11,994/14,977
Health3#15,186/15,609
Healthcare19#12,672/15,650
Environment26#11,436/15,453
Education4#15,089/15,649
Infrastructure17#12,956/15,650
Community1#15,429/15,651
Leisure & amenities60#6,251/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Effective property tax rate · low0.33%
96/100Louisiana 0.55%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Time spent in the emergency room · low114 min
91/100Louisiana 135 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesTangipahoa Parish value
Pharmacies · high2.4 /10k
87/100Louisiana 2.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTangipahoa Parish value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyTangipahoa Parish value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low8 mi
81/100Louisiana 30 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauTangipahoa Parish value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Louisiana 0 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyTangipahoa Parish value

Weaknesses

Math scores · low2.21
1/100Louisiana 2.71United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTangipahoa Parish value
Reading scores · low2.40
1/100Louisiana 2.74United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTangipahoa Parish value
Loneliness · high41.8%
2/100Louisiana 37.4%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
High school diploma or higher · low81.1%
2/100Louisiana 87.3%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Child poverty rate · high45.7%
2/100Louisiana 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Preventable hospital stays · high4,675 /100k
3/100Louisiana 3,516 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTangipahoa Parish value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,971 (2015-2019) → 2,207 (2020-2024)
+12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
72.7% (2015-2019) → 45.7% (2020-2024)
−27 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
73.4% (2015-2019) → 91.5% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
37.3% (2015-2019) → 31.0% (2020-2024)
−6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
35.3% (2015-2019) → 40.6% (2020-2024)
+5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
High school diploma or higherImproving
76.5% (2015-2019) → 81.1% (2020-2024)
+4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

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, Independence, Louisiana improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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.

Improved2

Child poverty−27 points72.7% → 45.7%
Broadband+18 points73.4% → 91.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Independence, Louisiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.8 min2015-2019	27.0 min2020-2024	−3.9 min	Within the margin of error	85%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.6%2015-2019	14.8%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Broadband subscriptions	73.4%2015-2019	91.5%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	87%
Child poverty rate	72.7%2015-2019	45.7%2020-2024	−27 points	Improved	97%
High school diploma or higher	76.5%2015-2019	81.1%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	54%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4822015-2019	0.4432020-2024	−0.039	Within the margin of error	79%
Median household income	$35,7332015-2019	$40,2682020-2024	+13%	Within the margin of error	20%
Poverty rate	37.3%2015-2019	31.0%2020-2024	−6.3 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Rent as share of income	35.3%2015-2019	40.6%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Rent-burdened households	60.1%2015-2019	57.9%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.2%2015-2019	15.3%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	18%

“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 Independence, Louisiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Independence, 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, Independence, Louisiana itself moved +8.7 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

2,207 residents (±605)

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

705 households (±177)

Independence, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $25k29%†206
$25k–50k28%†196
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

705 households (±177)

Independence, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Own54%†384
Rent46%†321

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

871 workers (±247)

Independence, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Drive alone75%654
Carpool23%†198
Public transit0.0%0

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 Hammond, 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 Tangipahoa Parish, the county holding most of Independence's residents.

Tangipahoa Parish has 2,617 employer establishments, 189 for every 10,000 residents (0.76× the US rate of 248; 0.80× Louisiana's), with 39,823 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,054. The Census Bureau also counts 13,418 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,617; 13,418 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 189; US 248 · Louisiana 236
Paid employees: 39,823
Average annual pay: $44,054; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	236	17.1	0.93×About typical	5,046	$17,106	88
Ambulatory health care services	209	15.1	0.73×Fewer than typical	2,602	$62,238	698
Specialty trade contractors	167	12.1	0.78×Fewer than typical	944	$55,103	1,114
Full-service restaurants	103	7.5	0.97×About typical	2,509	$18,400	35
Lessors of real estate	101	7.3	0.59×Fewer than typical	294	$40,616	983
Limited-service restaurants	98	7.1	0.88×About typical	2,198	$15,632	26
Religious organizations	92	6.7	1.20×About typical	423	$21,823	—
Gasoline stations	80	5.8	1.79×More than typical	702	$25,030	3
Building equipment contractors	74	5.4	0.89×About typical	452	$55,723	205
Automotive repair and maintenance	64	4.6	0.92×About typical	445	$38,494	255
Legal services	64	4.6	0.86×About typical	236	$69,640	96
Offices of other health practitioners	64	4.6	0.76×Fewer than typical	566	$36,166	201

Rank places for an industry Open Tangipahoa Parish

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 138,101 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 -$749 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Independence, Louisiana: -$0.34 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$749; −113% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$0.34; 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

AMERICAN DIESEL POWER PRODUCTS, INC.$00.0%
PINE ACRES PARK LLC-$7490.0%

Spending by fiscal year

889.1FY2017
1.9KFY2019
10.5KFY2024
5.6KFY2025
-748.7FY2026

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

Independence, Louisiana's figures are part of those of Tangipahoa Parish, LA ($1M 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: Independence is mostly in Tangipahoa Parish.

See federal money in Tangipahoa 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.

Independence, 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.

Tangipahoa Parish9100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Hammond, LA10

Other cities and towns in Tangipahoa 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/2237025

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends