Town · Richland Parish, Louisiana

Rayville, Louisiana

Rayville is a town in Richland Parish, Louisiana, part of the Monroe, LA metro area. It has 3,261 residents. Rayville, Louisiana has a quality-of-life score of 1 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,526 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Louisiana it ranks #232 of 262 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), pharmacies (high) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on reading scores (low), mental health care shortage (high) and adult obesity (high).

1Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,526 of 15,651 cities and towns
Louisiana: #232 of 262 in LA
Population: 3,261 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,411.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2263680

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety1#15,544/15,637
Economy2#15,390/15,631
Housing16#12,628/14,977
Health4#15,055/15,609
Healthcare37#9,926/15,650
Environment36#9,869/15,453
Education2#15,354/15,649
Infrastructure3#15,236/15,650
Community13#13,584/15,651
Leisure & amenities16#13,112/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Job growth · high35.1%
100/100Louisiana -0.5%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataRichland Parish value
Pharmacies · high4.6 /10k
100/100Louisiana 2.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRichland Parish value
Effective property tax rate · low0.31%
97/100Louisiana 0.55%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Mental health providers · high626 /100k
94/100Louisiana 365 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRichland Parish value
Time spent in the emergency room · low108 min
94/100Louisiana 135 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesRichland Parish value
Public libraries · high1.5 /10k
87/100Louisiana 0.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesRichland Parish value

Weaknesses

Reading scores · low2.20
0/100Louisiana 2.74United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRichland Parish value
Mental health care shortage · high21.0
0/100Louisiana 15.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationRichland Parish value
Adult obesity · high51.9%
0/100Louisiana 42.3%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Lack of reliable transportation · high25.1%
1/100Louisiana 11.8%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Food insecurity · high49.4%
1/100Louisiana 23.2%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Child poverty rate · high51.1%
1/100Louisiana 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.

PopulationFalling
3,556 (2015-2019) → 3,261 (2020-2024)
−8.3%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
45.5% (2015-2019) → 79.8% (2020-2024)
+34 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
68.5% (2015-2019) → 51.1% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
80.9% (2015-2019) → 68.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
55.1% (2015-2019) → 67.1% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Unemployment rateWorsening
0.6% (2015-2019) → 12.2% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Rayville, Louisiana improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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+34 points45.5% → 79.8%
Bachelor's++9.6 points5.4% → 15.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Rayville, Louisiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.7 min2015-2019	19.2 min2020-2024	−2.5 min	Within the margin of error	75%
Bachelor's degree or higher	5.4%2015-2019	15.0%2020-2024	+9.6 points	Improved	89%
Broadband subscriptions	45.5%2015-2019	79.8%2020-2024	+34 points	Improved	99%
Child poverty rate	68.5%2015-2019	51.1%2020-2024	−17 points	Within the margin of error	92%
High school diploma or higher	80.9%2015-2019	68.0%2020-2024	−13 points	Within the margin of error	1%
Home price to income ratio	3.6×2015-2019	3.6×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	75%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4942015-2019	0.5442020-2024	+0.050	Within the margin of error	16%
Median household income	$19,9502015-2019	$27,2732020-2024	+37%	Within the margin of error	68%
Poverty rate	49.3%2015-2019	41.1%2020-2024	−8.2 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	32.9%2015-2019	37.8%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Rent-burdened households	55.1%2015-2019	67.1%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.6%2015-2019	9.3%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Within the margin of error	84%

“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 Rayville, Louisiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Rayville, 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, Rayville, Louisiana itself moved +0.2 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

3,261 residents (±15)

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

1,128 households (±150)

Rayville, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $25k46%524
$25k–50k21%†239
$50k–75k20%†226

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,128 households (±150)

Rayville, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Own35%†392
Rent65%736

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

796 workers (±197)

Rayville, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Drive alone73%†580
Carpool16%†127
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 Monroe, 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 Richland Parish, the county holding most of Rayville's residents.

Richland Parish has 414 employer establishments, 210 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.89× Louisiana's), with 5,355 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,782. The Census Bureau also counts 1,616 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 414; 1,616 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 210; US 248 · Louisiana 236
Paid employees: 5,355
Average annual pay: $45,782; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	29	14.7	0.71×Fewer than typical	380	$43,400	82
Religious organizations	24	12.2	2.19×More than typical	88	$19,091	—
Specialty trade contractors	24	12.2	0.79×Fewer than typical	193	$40,119	117
Lessors of real estate	20	10.1	0.82×About typical	145	$29,759	140
Building equipment contractors	16	8.1	1.35×More than typical	114	$40,175	25
Restaurants and other eating places	16	8.1	0.44×Fewer than typical	206	$17,607	9
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	14	7.1	1.74×More than typical	34	$51,382	13
Gasoline stations	14	7.1	2.19×More than typical	150	$24,087	—
Health and personal care stores	11	5.6	2.10×More than typical	84	$30,548	20
Insurance agencies and brokerages	11	5.6	1.27×More than typical	30	$43,967	28
Offices of physicians	11	5.6	0.86×About typical	95	$57,526	9
Banks and credit unions	10	5.1	1.57×More than typical	111	$59,279	—

Rank places for an industry Open Richland Parish

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 19,721 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: Rayville is mostly in Richland Parish.

See federal money in Richland 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.

Rayville, 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.

Richland Parish4100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Monroe, LA12

Other cities and towns in Richland 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/2263680

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends