City · Vernon Parish, Louisiana

Leesville, Louisiana

Leesville is a city in Vernon Parish, Louisiana. It has 5,495 residents. Leesville, Louisiana has a quality-of-life score of 2 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,415 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Louisiana it ranks #212 of 262 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), time spent in the emergency room (low) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on grocery stores (low), child poverty rate (high) and poverty rate (high).

2Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,415 of 15,651 cities and towns
Louisiana: #212 of 262 in LA
Population: 5,495 (2020-2024)
Land area: 9 mi²
Density: 616.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 2243010

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.

Safety28#11,218/15,637
Economy1#15,541/15,631
Housing34#9,811/14,977
Health4#14,992/15,609
Healthcare11#13,990/15,650
Environment22#12,029/15,453
Education18#12,863/15,649
Infrastructure14#13,453/15,650
Community2#15,386/15,651
Leisure & amenities9#14,218/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Leesville, Louisiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Vernon 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 · low0.28%
98/100Louisiana 0.55%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Time spent in the emergency room · low109 min
93/100Louisiana 135 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesVernon Parish value
Average commute time · low18.7 min
90/100Louisiana 25.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Louisiana 0 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyVernon Parish value
Comfortable days · high28.7%
72/100Louisiana 29.3%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationVernon Parish value
Injury deaths · low78 /100k
66/100Louisiana 121 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVernon Parish value

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.2 /10k
0/100Louisiana 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsVernon Parish value
Child poverty rate · high50.5%
1/100Louisiana 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Poverty rate · high33.7%
1/100Louisiana 18.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Food environment index · low5.0
1/100Louisiana 4.8United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVernon Parish value
Voter turnout · low46.9%
2/100Louisiana 59.2%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionVernon Parish value
Mammography screening · low29.0%
2/100Louisiana 48.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVernon Parish value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
5,891 (2015-2019) → 5,495 (2020-2024)
−6.7%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
67.9% (2015-2019) → 87.3% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedWorsening
6.9 /1k (2021) → 2.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−68%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
49.5% (2015-2019) → 53.5% (2020-2024)
+4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
14.8% (2015-2019) → 18.7% (2020-2024)
+3.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$31,572 (2015-2019) → $37,500 (2020-2024)
+19%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Leesville, Louisiana improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 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 points67.9% → 87.3%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Leesville, Louisiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.9 min2015-2019	18.7 min2020-2024	+0.8 min	Within the margin of error	38%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.8%2015-2019	18.7%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Broadband subscriptions	67.9%2015-2019	87.3%2020-2024	+19 points	Improved	89%
Child poverty rate	47.5%2015-2019	50.5%2020-2024	+3 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Effective property tax rate	0.32%2015-2019	0.28%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	23%
High school diploma or higher	82.7%2015-2019	84.5%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Home price to income ratio	3.0×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	67%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4972015-2019	0.5112020-2024	+0.014	Within the margin of error	38%
Median household income	$31,5722015-2019	$37,5002020-2024	+19%	Within the margin of error	31%
Poverty rate	32.2%2015-2019	33.7%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Rent as share of income	29.6%2015-2019	31.9%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Rent-burdened households	49.5%2015-2019	53.5%2020-2024	+4 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Unemployment rate	10.9%2015-2019	9.8%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.9%2015-2019	10.6%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	62%

“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 Leesville, Louisiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Leesville, 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, Leesville, Louisiana itself moved +0.8 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

5,495 residents (±41)

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

2,490 households (±150)

Leesville, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $25k36%888
$25k–50k22%547
$50k–75k14%359

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,490 households (±150)

Leesville, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Own45%1,109
Rent55%1,381

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,197 workers (±173)

Leesville, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Drive alone78%1,706
Carpool14%297
Public transit0.1%†3

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 Vernon Parish, the county holding most of Leesville's residents.

Vernon Parish has 662 employer establishments, 143 for every 10,000 residents (0.58× the US rate of 248; 0.61× Louisiana's), with 8,355 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,287. The Census Bureau also counts 2,420 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 662; 2,420 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 143; US 248 · Louisiana 236
Paid employees: 8,355
Average annual pay: $47,287; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	50	10.8	0.59×Fewer than typical	813	$19,250	17
Ambulatory health care services	46	9.9	0.48×Fewer than typical	890	$65,588	107
Religious organizations	35	7.6	1.36×More than typical	144	$20,007	—
Truck transportation	28	6.1	1.20×About typical	147	$41,381	72
Lessors of real estate	27	5.8	0.47×Fewer than typical	183	$49,492	151
Limited-service restaurants	26	5.6	0.70×Fewer than typical	536	$18,112	10
Specialty trade contractors	26	5.6	0.36×Fewer than typical	338	$43,364	207
Gasoline stations	22	4.8	1.47×More than typical	171	$20,485	—
Construction of buildings	19	4.1	0.54×Fewer than typical	122	$48,008	83
Legal services	19	4.1	0.76×Fewer than typical	51	$22,765	18
General merchandise stores	17	3.7	2.08×More than typical	438	$28,870	23
Management, scientific and technical consulting	17	3.7	0.55×Fewer than typical	72	$81,014	37

Rank places for an industry Open Vernon Parish

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 46,232 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 $11.5M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Leesville, Louisiana: $2,091 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $11.5M; −13% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2,091; US $1,995
Sole-source: 17%; US 30%
Single offer: 3.6%; 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 Army$10.2M89%
Defense Logistics Agency$978.1K8.5%
Department of the Air Force$150.6K1.3%
Defense Health Agency$139.4K1.2%
Federal Acquisition Service$28.1K0.2%
Defense Commissary Agency$19.8K0.2%
Department of Veterans Affairs$2,7580.0%
Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services$8390.0%

Top recipients

VALIANT GLOBAL DEFENSE SERVICES INC.$3.4M29%
AMENTUM SERVICES, INC.$1.6M14%
CERRIS BUILDERS, INC$1.5M13%
PRIDE INDUSTRIES$1.3M12%
AMERICAN WATER OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE, LLC$760.7K6.6%

Spending by fiscal year

13.8MFY2017
15.4MFY2018
15.3MFY2019
19.6MFY2020
13.2MFY2021
12.2MFY2022
20.7MFY2023
22.5M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other schools and instruction · 6116$3.4M29%
Facilities support services · 5612$2.9M26%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$1.6M14%
Water, sewage and other systems · 2213$760.7K6.6%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$618.8K5.4%
Highway, street, and bridge construction · 2373

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

Leesville, Louisiana's figures are part of those of Vernon Parish, LA ($236M in FY2026), never added to them: 4.9% of that total.

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

See federal money in Vernon 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.

Leesville, 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.

Vernon Parish18100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Vernon 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/2243010

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends