City · Lincoln Parish, Louisiana

Ruston, Louisiana

Ruston is a city in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, part of the Ruston, LA metro area. It has 22,284 residents. Ruston, Louisiana has a quality-of-life score of 4 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,063 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Louisiana it ranks #169 of 262 cities and towns. It ranks best on average commute time (low), effective property tax rate (low) and injury deaths (low). It ranks worst on poverty rate (high), dental care shortage (high) and income inequality (Gini index) (high).

4Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,063 of 15,651 cities and towns
Louisiana: #169 of 262 in LA
Population: 22,284 (2020-2024)
Land area: 21 mi²
Density: 1,051.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 2266655

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.

Safety12#13,812/15,637
Economy6#14,659/15,631
Housing14#12,901/14,977
Health15#13,205/15,609
Healthcare24#11,900/15,650
Environment32#10,542/15,453
Education35#10,134/15,649
Infrastructure7#14,491/15,650
Community8#14,416/15,651
Leisure & amenities31#10,729/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Average commute time · low15.1 min
96/100Louisiana 25.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Effective property tax rate · low0.47%
90/100Louisiana 0.55%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Injury deaths · low61 /100k
87/100Louisiana 121 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln Parish value
Job growth · high1.7%
86/100Louisiana -0.5%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLincoln Parish value
Mental health providers · high485 /100k
84/100Louisiana 365 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln Parish value
Social associations · high13.1 /10k
83/100Louisiana 9.4 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln Parish value

Weaknesses

Poverty rate · high39.8%
0/100Louisiana 18.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Dental care shortage · high22.0
0/100Louisiana 13.9United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLincoln Parish value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.548
1/100Louisiana 0.495United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Child poverty rate · high47.2%
1/100Louisiana 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Mental health care shortage · high20.0
1/100Louisiana 15.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLincoln Parish value
Median household income · low$31,120
2/100Louisiana $61,038United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013

Trends

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

Rent as share of incomeWorsening
39.0% (2015-2019) → 46.3% (2020-2024)
+7.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
New homes permittedImproving
4.1 /1k (2021) → 5.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+35%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Home price to income ratioWorsening
5.8× (2015-2019) → 7.2× (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
71.5% (2015-2019) → 67.0% (2020-2024)
−4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
89.7% (2015-2019) → 92.9% (2020-2024)
+3.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Child poverty rateWorsening
44.1% (2015-2019) → 47.2% (2020-2024)
+3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Ruston, Louisiana improved on 0 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 14 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Price / income+1.4×5.8× → 7.2×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Ruston, Louisiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.5 min2015-2019	15.1 min2020-2024	+1.6 min	Within the margin of error	31%
Bachelor's degree or higher	41.7%2015-2019	40.2%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Broadband subscriptions	87.0%2015-2019	84.6%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Child poverty rate	44.1%2015-2019	47.2%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Effective property tax rate	0.50%2015-2019	0.47%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	22%
High school diploma or higher	89.7%2015-2019	92.9%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Home price to income ratio	5.8×2015-2019	7.2×2020-2024	+1.4×	Declined	11%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5392015-2019	0.5482020-2024	+0.009	Within the margin of error	43%
Median household income	$29,1282015-2019	$31,1202020-2024	+6.8%	Within the margin of error	13%
Poverty rate	41.6%2015-2019	39.8%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	39.0%2015-2019	46.3%2020-2024	+7.3 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Rent-burdened households	71.5%2015-2019	67.0%2020-2024	−4.5 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Unemployment rate	4.5%2015-2019	3.4%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.8%2015-2019	7.7%2020-2024	−2 points	Within the margin of error	69%

“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 Ruston, Louisiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ruston, 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, Ruston, Louisiana itself moved −5.4 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

22,284 residents (±30)

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

8,796 households (±536)

Ruston, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $25k42%3,680
$25k–50k24%2,141
$50k–75k12%1,064

Homes

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

Owners and renters

8,796 households (±536)

Ruston, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Own36%3,186
Rent64%5,610

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

8,289 workers (±816)

Ruston, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Drive alone71%5,901
Carpool8.8%†729
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 Ruston, 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 Lincoln Parish, the county holding most of Ruston's residents.

Lincoln Parish has 1,155 employer establishments, 240 for every 10,000 residents (0.97× the US rate of 248; 1.02× Louisiana's), with 15,124 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,395. The Census Bureau also counts 3,844 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,155; 3,844 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 240; US 248 · Louisiana 236
Paid employees: 15,124
Average annual pay: $42,395; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	115	23.9	1.15×About typical	1,046	$49,080	238
Restaurants and other eating places	87	18.1	0.98×About typical	1,890	$17,344	21
Lessors of real estate	62	12.9	1.05×About typical	298	$37,748	430
Religious organizations	55	11.4	2.06×More than typical	594	$21,800	—
Specialty trade contractors	53	11	0.71×Fewer than typical	468	$52,222	190
Offices of other health practitioners	50	10.4	1.71×More than typical	331	$39,970	107
Limited-service restaurants	41	8.5	1.06×About typical	1,036	$17,661	5
Full-service restaurants	29	6	0.78×Fewer than typical	674	$17,660	9
Construction of buildings	27	5.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	184	$64,772	71
Building equipment contractors	26	5.4	0.90×About typical	295	$50,261	40
Offices of physicians	26	5.4	0.83×About typical	231	$59,680	53
Insurance agencies and brokerages	25	5.2	1.18×About typical	140	$54,286	74

Rank places for an industry Open Lincoln Parish

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 48,112 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 $228.5K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Ruston, Louisiana: $10.26 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $228.5K; −50% vs FY2025
Per resident: $10.26; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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 Air Force$228.5K100%

Top recipients

BETAFLIX, INC.$228.5K100%
VISTA TECHWERX LLC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

38.5KFY2017
25.4KFY2018
36.5KFY2019
463.9KFY2020
18.2KFY2021
566.9KFY2022
500.2KFY2023
1.5MFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$228.5K100%

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

Ruston, Louisiana's figures are part of those of Lincoln Parish, LA ($1.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 14% of that total.

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

See federal money in Lincoln 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.

Ruston, 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.

Lincoln Parish11100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Ruston, LA14

Other cities and towns in Lincoln 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/2266655

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends