Fort Polk South, LA

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

2022 Population

48,452

US Senator

Bill Cassidy

Republican Party

US Senator

John Kennedy

Republican Party

2022 Median Age

31.5

2.61% 1-year increase

2022 Poverty Rate

18%

1.92% 1-year increase

2022 Median Household Income

$56,547

6.26% 1-year growth

2022 Median Property Value

Population & Diversity

Fort Polk South, LA is home to a population of 48.5k people, from which 98.8% are citizens.

As of 2022, 3.28% of Fort Polk South, LA residents were born outside of the country (1.59k people).

In 2022, there were 5.27 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (33.8k people) in Fort Polk South, LA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 6.41k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 2.49k White (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

98.8%

2022 Citizenship

98.7%

2021 Citizenship

As of 2022, 98.8% of Fort Polk South, LA residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2021, the percentage of US citizens in Fort Polk South, LA was 98.7%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Fort Polk South, LA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Fort Polk South, LA

White (Non-Hispanic)
33.8k ± 146
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
6.41k ± 209
White (Hispanic)
2.49k ± 262

9.63%

Hispanic Population

4.66k people

9.63% of the people in Fort Polk South, LA are hispanic (4.66k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Fort Polk South, LA as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the MSA level, so we are showing data for Louisiana.

Most Common Origin

Honduras
48,818 ± 5,396 people
Mexico
27,788 ± 4,080 people
Vietnam
17,351 ± 3,228 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Louisiana was Honduras, the natal country of 48,818 Louisiana residents, followed by Mexico with 27,788 and Vietnam with 17,351.

Foreign-Born Population

3.28%

2022 Foreign-Born Population

1.59k people

3.51%

2021 Foreign-Born Population

1.72k people

As of 2022, 3.28% of Fort Polk South, LA residents (1.59k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2021, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Fort Polk South, LA was 3.51%, meaning that the rate has been decreasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Fort Polk South, LA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Gulf War (2001-)
2,452 ± 319
Gulf War (1990s)
1,087 ± 156
Vietnam
932 ± 144

Fort Polk South, LA has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 2.26 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Fort Polk South, LA.

Economy

The economy of Fort Polk South, LA employs 15.9k people. In 2022, the largest industries in Fort Polk South, LA were Health Care & Social Assistance (2,052 people), Retail Trade (1,811 people), and Educational Services (1,719 people), and the highest paying industries were Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($72,161), Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($58,125), and Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($54,715).

Employment

Occupations

15.9k

2022 Value

± 753

0.449%

1 Year growth

± 6.75%

From 2021 to 2022, employment in Fort Polk South, LA grew at a rate of 0.449%, from 15.8k employees to 15.9k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Fort Polk South, LA, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (1,789 people), Sales & Related Occupations (1,542 people), and Construction & Extraction Occupations (1,319 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Fort Polk South, LA.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Louisiana.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Louisiana (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

15.9k

2022 Value

± 753

0.449%

1 Year growth

± 6.75%

From 2021 to 2022, employment in Fort Polk South, LA grew at a rate of 0.449%, from 15.8k employees to 15.9k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Fort Polk South, LA, are Health Care & Social Assistance (2,052 people), Retail Trade (1,811 people), and Educational Services (1,719 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Fort Polk South, LA, though some of these residents may live in Fort Polk South, LA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$47,361

Median earning men ± $3,210

$30,209

Median earning women ± $1,966

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2022 are Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($56,944), Manufacturing ($56,293), and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($54,950).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2022 are Manufacturing ($42,833), Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($42,029), and Information ($41,325).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Louisiana.

Y-Axis

1.78%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 1.94M people employed in Louisiana. This represents a 1.78% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 14.4%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Louisiana.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

55
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
50
Other Services (except Public Administration)
46
Retail Trade

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$104k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$48.5k
Retail Trade
$22.8k
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Fort Polk South, LA was $141,900 in 2022, which is 0.427 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2021 and 2022 the median property value increased from $125,600 to $141,900, a 13% increase. The homeownership rate in Fort Polk South, LA is 55.3%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Fort Polk South, LA have an average commute time of 22.8 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Fort Polk South, LA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$141,900

Median Property Value 2022

±$10,150

$9,809

Median Property Taxes

±$519

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Fort Polk South, LA the largest share of households pay taxes in the None range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Fort Polk South, LA compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

55.3%

Homeownership

2022

66.8%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2022

In 2022, 55.3% of the housing units in Fort Polk South, LA were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 55.4%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Fort Polk South, LA compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$56,547

Median Household Income

± $2,244

17.7k

Number of Households

± 784

In 2022, the median household income of the 17.7k households in Fort Polk South, LA grew to $56,547 from the previous year's value of $53,215.

The following chart displays the households in Fort Polk South, LA distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Fort Polk South, LA is from Louisiana.

0.464

2024 Wage GINI in Louisiana

0.465

2023 Wage GINI in Louisiana

In 2024, the income inequality in Louisiana was 0.464 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.265% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Louisiana was lower than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Louisiana in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Louisiana across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2022

Drove Alone (81%)
Carpooled (8.4%)
Worked At Home (4.66%)

In 2022, 81% of workers in Fort Polk South, LA drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (8.4%) and those who worked at home (4.66%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

22.8 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Fort Polk South, LA have a shorter commute time (22.8 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 2.21% of the workforce in Fort Polk South, LA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Fort Polk South, LA compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Fort Polk South, LA distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Fort Polk South, LA have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

18% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Fort Polk South, LA (8.39k out of 46.5k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 6 - 11 and then Males 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Fort Polk South, LA is White, followed by Black and Hispanic.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798, followed by New York (5,087).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

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