Town · LaSalle Parish, Louisiana

Jena, Louisiana

Jena is a town in LaSalle Parish, Louisiana. It has 4,160 residents. Jena, Louisiana has a quality-of-life score of 14 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,417 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Louisiana it ranks #82 of 262 cities and towns. It ranks best on pharmacies (high), firearm deaths (low) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on preventable hospital stays (high), hospital quality rating (low) and public EV charging ports (low).

14Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,417 of 15,651 cities and towns
Louisiana: #82 of 262 in LA
Population: 4,160 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 756.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 2238285

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety35#10,150/15,637
Economy45#8,579/15,631
Housing49#7,649/14,977
Health25#11,646/15,609
Healthcare16#13,205/15,650
Environment23#11,891/15,453
Education26#11,575/15,649
Infrastructure29#11,100/15,650
Community21#12,387/15,651
Leisure & amenities7#14,621/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Jena, Louisiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “LaSalle 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 · high4.0 /10k
99/100Louisiana 2.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLaSalle Parish value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Louisiana 19.9 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLaSalle Parish value
Effective property tax rate · low0.42%
93/100Louisiana 0.55%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Public libraries · high2.0 /10k
91/100Louisiana 0.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesLaSalle Parish value
Time spent in the emergency room · low113 min
91/100Louisiana 135 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLaSalle Parish value
Social associations · high14.9 /10k
91/100Louisiana 9.4 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLaSalle Parish value

Weaknesses

Preventable hospital stays · high6,143 /100k
0/100Louisiana 3,516 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLaSalle Parish value
Hospital quality rating · low1.0
1/100Louisiana 2.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLaSalle Parish value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Louisiana 1.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyLaSalle Parish value
Distance to an airport · high129 mi
4/100Louisiana 80 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauLaSalle Parish value
Dentists · low20 /100k
5/100Louisiana 60 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLaSalle Parish value
Flu vaccinations · low28.0%
5/100Louisiana 38.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLaSalle Parish value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
3,409 (2015-2019) → 4,160 (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
62.0% (2015-2019) → 14.5% (2020-2024)
−48 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
73.7% (2015-2019) → 95.8% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedImproving
0.3 /1k (2021) → 0.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+78%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
High school diploma or higherImproving
77.4% (2015-2019) → 91.7% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
16.8% (2015-2019) → 4.6% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Jena, Louisiana improved on 1 of 11 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.

Improved1

Broadband+22 points73.7% → 95.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Jena, Louisiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	48.0 min2015-2019	36.4 min2020-2024	−11.6 min	Within the margin of error	99%
Bachelor's degree or higher	22.5%2015-2019	21.8%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Broadband subscriptions	73.7%2015-2019	95.8%2020-2024	+22 points	Improved	93%
Effective property tax rate	0.57%2015-2019	0.42%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
High school diploma or higher	77.4%2015-2019	91.7%2020-2024	+14 points	Within the margin of error	98%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	−0.6×	Within the margin of error	94%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4182015-2019	0.3612020-2024	−0.057	Within the margin of error	86%
Median household income	$47,0602015-2019	$71,7302020-2024	+52%	Within the margin of error	86%
Poverty rate	15.8%2015-2019	11.3%2020-2024	−4.5 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	33.5%2015-2019	23.6%2020-2024	−9.9 points	Within the margin of error	93%

“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 Jena, Louisiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Jena, 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, Jena, Louisiana itself moved +26.1 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

4,160 residents (±18)

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

1,463 households (±172)

Jena, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $25k12%†179
$25k–50k18%†267
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,463 households (±172)

Jena, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Own81%1,190
Rent19%†273

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

2,033 workers (±210)

Jena, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Drive alone75%1,518
Carpool12%†237
Public transit0.0%0

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 LaSalle Parish, the county holding most of Jena's residents.

LaSalle Parish has 377 employer establishments, 250 for every 10,000 residents (1.01× the US rate of 248; 1.06× Louisiana's), with 3,720 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,512. The Census Bureau also counts 931 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 377; 931 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 250; US 248 · Louisiana 236
Paid employees: 3,720
Average annual pay: $48,512; US $68,342

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

Management, scientific and technical consulting	73	48.5	7.23×More than typical	109	$64,339	23
Restaurants and other eating places	23	15.3	0.83×About typical	251	$15,833	6
Religious organizations	22	14.6	2.63×More than typical	79	$15,987	—
Specialty trade contractors	22	14.6	0.94×About typical	112	$43,259	98
Ambulatory health care services	17	11.3	0.54×Fewer than typical	132	$57,629	38
Truck transportation	14	9.3	1.84×More than typical	51	$63,235	34
Building equipment contractors	11	7.3	1.21×About typical	48	$42,563	17
Construction of buildings	10	6.6	0.88×About typical	17	$64,529	13
Gasoline stations	10	6.6	2.05×More than typical	85	$23,141	—
Limited-service restaurants	10	6.6	0.83×About typical	134	$17,410	—
Other specialty trade contractors	9	6	2.38×Too few to compare	55	$48,036	44
Full-service restaurants	8	5.3	0.69×Too few to compare	77	$14,714	5

Rank places for an industry Open LaSalle Parish

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 15,058 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 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Jena, Louisiana: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; 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

Spending by fiscal year

2.1KFY2017
1.5KFY2018
890.2FY2020
434.9FY2021
0FY2022

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

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

See federal money in LaSalle 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.

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

House

Julia LetlowR-LA-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 5.9%

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.

LaSalle Parish13100% of residents

Other cities and towns in LaSalle 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/2238285

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends