Village · Acadia Parish, Louisiana

Morse, Louisiana

Morse is a village in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, part of the Lafayette, LA metro area. It has 1,099 residents. Morse, Louisiana has a quality-of-life score of 6 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,711 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Louisiana it ranks #143 of 262 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent as share of income (low), pharmacies (high) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on dental care shortage (high), depression (high) and frequent mental distress (high).

6Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,711 of 15,651 cities and towns
Louisiana: #143 of 262 in LA
Population: 1,099 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 784.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 2252320

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety7#14,576/15,637
Economy13#13,555/15,631
Housing93#1,116/14,977
Health3#15,189/15,609
Healthcare24#11,937/15,650
Environment12#13,662/15,453
Education4#15,075/15,649
Infrastructure6#14,697/15,650
Community8#14,401/15,651
Leisure & amenities45#8,641/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Rent as share of income · low9.0%
100/100Louisiana 32.8%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At most this value: the publisher's bottom bracket is open-ended
Pharmacies · high3.3 /10k
98/100Louisiana 2.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAcadia Parish value
Grocery stores · high2.8 /10k
93/100Louisiana 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAcadia Parish value
Home price to income ratio · low1.5×
92/100Louisiana 3.6×United States 4.1×2019-2023U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077High uncertainty
Time spent in the emergency room · low113 min
91/100Louisiana 135 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAcadia Parish value
Rent-burdened households · low19.2%
82/100Louisiana 54.8%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Weaknesses

Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100Louisiana 13.9United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationAcadia Parish value
Depression · high33.3%
2/100Louisiana 27.2%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high22.7%
3/100Louisiana 21.3%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Louisiana 1.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyAcadia Parish value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low7.6%
4/100Louisiana 27.0%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003High uncertainty
Child poverty rate · high24.0%
4/100Louisiana 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
60.8% (2015-2019) → 86.4% (2020-2024)
+26 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
65.9% (2015-2019) → 85.4% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
29.2% (2015-2019) → 19.2% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Unemployment rateImproving
7.1% (2015-2019) → 2.2% (2020-2024)
−4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
13.5% (2015-2019) → 9.0% (2020-2024)
−4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Average commute timeWorsening
23.6 min (2015-2019) → 28.7 min (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Morse, Louisiana improved on 2 of 6 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 4 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

Broadband+26 points60.8% → 86.4%
Rent / income−4.5 points13.5% → 9.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 6 measures

Change of every measure of Morse, Louisiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Broadband subscriptions	60.8%2015-2019	86.4%2020-2024	+26 points	Improved	96%
High school diploma or higher	65.9%2015-2019	85.4%2020-2024	+19 points	Within the margin of error	99%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3842015-2019	0.3832020-2024	−0.001	Within the margin of error	51%
Poverty rate	21.3%2015-2019	21.8%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	13.5%2015-2019	9.0%2020-2024	−4.5 points	Improved	81%

“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 Morse, Louisiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Morse, 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, Morse, Louisiana itself moved +9.6 points in standing on average over the same 4 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

1,099 residents (±418)

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

390 households (±153)

Morse, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $25k16%†64
$25k–50k30%†117
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

390 households (±153)

Morse, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Own55%†213
Rent45%†177

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

485 workers (±240)

Morse, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Drive alone92%†444
Carpool5.2%†25
Public transit

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 Lafayette, 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 Acadia Parish, the county holding most of Morse's residents.

Acadia Parish has 1,150 employer establishments, 202 for every 10,000 residents (0.81× the US rate of 248; 0.86× Louisiana's), with 12,018 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,513. The Census Bureau also counts 5,310 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,150; 5,310 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 202; US 248 · Louisiana 236
Paid employees: 12,018
Average annual pay: $40,513; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	113	19.8	0.95×About typical	845	$48,336	352
Specialty trade contractors	89	15.6	1.01×About typical	751	$60,121	459
Restaurants and other eating places	73	12.8	0.70×Fewer than typical	1,262	$13,620	38
Management, scientific and technical consulting	46	8.1	1.20×About typical	67	$107,090	106
Building equipment contractors	40	7	1.17×About typical	217	$47,599	85
Limited-service restaurants	39	6.9	0.85×About typical	647	$14,114	18
Religious organizations	35	6.1	1.11×About typical	254	$19,543	—
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	34	6	1.47×More than typical	98	$28,949	70
Truck transportation	34	6	1.18×About typical	137	$50,161	250
Gasoline stations	33	5.8	1.79×More than typical	491	$22,029	—
Construction of buildings	32	5.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	106	$33,415	160
Offices of other health practitioners	32	5.6	0.93×About typical	93	$46,892	90

Rank places for an industry Open Acadia Parish

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 56,928 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Acadia 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.

Morse, 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.

Acadia Parish3100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Lafayette, LA31

Other cities and towns in Acadia 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/2252320

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends