Town · Livingston Parish, Louisiana

Walker, Louisiana

Walker is a town in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, part of the Baton Rouge, LA metro area. It has 6,390 residents. Walker, Louisiana has a quality-of-life score of 3 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,214 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Louisiana it ranks #189 of 262 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), days with unhealthy air (low) and child care cost burden (low). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), child poverty rate (high) and primary care physicians (low).

3Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,214 of 15,651 cities and towns
Louisiana: #189 of 262 in LA
Population: 6,390 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 969.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 2279240

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#13,793/15,637
Economy30#10,898/15,631
Housing34#9,958/14,977
Health13#13,517/15,609
Healthcare6#14,669/15,650
Environment13#13,510/15,453
Education21#12,347/15,649
Infrastructure20#12,574/15,650
Community7#14,573/15,651
Leisure & amenities9#14,194/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Walker, Louisiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Livingston 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 · low0.39%
94/100Louisiana 0.55%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLivingston Parish value
Child care cost burden · low23.2%
83/100Louisiana 30.2%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLivingston Parish value
Drought exposure · low12%
77/100Louisiana 52%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAALivingston Parish value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Louisiana 0 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLivingston Parish value
Comfortable days · high29.1%
74/100Louisiana 29.3%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLivingston Parish value

Weaknesses

Natural hazard risk · high97.1
3/100Louisiana 71.72025Federal Emergency Management AgencyLivingston Parish value
Child poverty rate · high18.1%
5/100Louisiana 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Primary care physicians · low20 /100k
5/100Louisiana 71 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLivingston Parish value
Depression · high29.5%
6/100Louisiana 27.2%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.3 µg/m³
6/100Louisiana 8.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLivingston Parish value
Average weekly wage · low$908
6/100Louisiana $1,213United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLivingston Parish value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.5% (2015-2019) → 90.2% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedImproving
0.8 /1k (2021) → 1.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+58%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
49.8% (2015-2019) → 41.5% (2020-2024)
−8.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
10.7% (2015-2019) → 18.1% (2020-2024)
+7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$60,485 (2015-2019) → $80,707 (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
9.3% (2015-2019) → 15.4% (2020-2024)
+6.1 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, Walker, Louisiana improved on 1 of 12 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.

Improved1

Broadband+13 points77.5% → 90.2%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Walker, Louisiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.6 min2015-2019	25.7 min2020-2024	−4.9 min	Within the margin of error	89%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.9%2015-2019	17.3%2020-2024	−3.6 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Broadband subscriptions	77.5%2015-2019	90.2%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	71%
Effective property tax rate	0.37%2015-2019	0.39%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	13%
High school diploma or higher	87.2%2015-2019	92.5%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	76%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4182015-2019	0.3902020-2024	−0.028	Within the margin of error	73%
Median household income	$60,4852015-2019	$80,7072020-2024	+33%	Within the margin of error	62%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	29.9%2015-2019	23.9%2020-2024	−6 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Rent-burdened households	49.8%2015-2019	41.5%2020-2024	−8.3 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.3%2015-2019	15.4%2020-2024	+6.1 points	Within the margin of error	8%

“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 Walker, Louisiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Walker, 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, Walker, Louisiana itself moved +13.4 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

6,390 residents (±21)

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

2,349 households (±276)

Walker, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $25k19%†442
$25k–50k18%†416
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,349 households (±276)

Walker, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Own70%1,646
Rent30%703

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

2,699 workers (±326)

Walker, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Drive alone85%2,301
Carpool6.0%†163
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 Baton Rouge, 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 Livingston Parish, the county holding most of Walker's residents.

Livingston Parish has 2,104 employer establishments, 139 for every 10,000 residents (0.56× the US rate of 248; 0.59× Louisiana's), with 24,542 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,241. The Census Bureau also counts 13,283 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,104; 13,283 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 139; US 248 · Louisiana 236
Paid employees: 24,542
Average annual pay: $42,241; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	253	16.8	1.08×About typical	2,164	$73,152	1,514
Restaurants and other eating places	193	12.8	0.70×Fewer than typical	4,119	$18,535	79
Building equipment contractors	122	8.1	1.34×More than typical	768	$53,423	345
Ambulatory health care services	117	7.8	0.37×Fewer than typical	1,292	$55,738	413
Limited-service restaurants	98	6.5	0.81×About typical	2,033	$15,493	23
Lessors of real estate	83	5.5	0.45×Fewer than typical	280	$37,186	885
Religious organizations	81	5.4	0.97×About typical	686	$18,547	—
Construction of buildings	76	5	0.67×Fewer than typical	630	$78,327	584
Gasoline stations	71	4.7	1.45×More than typical	428	$27,042	3
Services to buildings and dwellings	71	4.7	0.70×Fewer than typical	432	$28,759	1,509
Full-service restaurants	69	4.6	0.60×Fewer than typical	1,887	$21,433	25
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	69	4.6	1.38×More than typical	468	$52,844	192

Rank places for an industry Open Livingston Parish

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 150,872 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 $54K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Walker, Louisiana: $8.45 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $54K; +1,010% vs FY2025
Per resident: $8.45; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 100%; 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$55.3K100%

Top recipients

N-Y ASSOCIATES INC$55.3K100%
COLYELL PROPERTIES LLC-$1,3190.0%

Spending by fiscal year

22.3KFY2017
7.5KFY2018
-1KFY2019
2.8KFY2020
9.4KFY2022
46.8KFY2023
3.1KFY2024
4.9KFY2025

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$55.3K100%

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

Walker, Louisiana's figures are part of those of Livingston Parish, LA ($1.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 4.2% of that total.

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

See federal money in Livingston 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.

Walker, Louisiana is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Livingston Parish21100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Baton Rouge, LA33

Other cities and towns in Livingston 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/2279240

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends