Ruston, LA

Census Place

2024 Population

22,284

US Senator

Bill Cassidy

Republican Party

US Senator

John Kennedy

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

24.3

2.1% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

39.8%

9.8% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$31,120

5.02% 1-year decline

2024 Median Property Value

$225,300

Population & Diversity

Ruston, LA is home to a population of 22.3k people, from which 98.6% are citizens.

As of 2024, 3.97% of Ruston, LA residents were born outside of the country (884 people).

In 2024, there were 1.09 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (10.5k people) in Ruston, LA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 9.63k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 781 Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

98.6%

2024 Citizenship

99.2%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 98.6% of Ruston, LA residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Ruston, LA was 99.2%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

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

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Ruston, LA

White (Non-Hispanic)
10.5k ± 587
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
9.63k ± 758
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
781 ± 344

1.87%

Hispanic Population

417 people

1.87% of the people in Ruston, LA are hispanic (417 people).

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

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the Place 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

3.97%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

884 people

3.18%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

706 people

As of 2024, 3.97% of Ruston, LA residents (884 people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Ruston, LA was 3.18%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

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

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
162 ± 117
Korea
92 ± 99
Gulf War (1990s)
78 ± 69

Ruston, LA has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.76 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Ruston, LA.

Economy

The economy of Ruston, LA employs 8.58k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Ruston, LA were Educational Services (2,149 people), Retail Trade (1,267 people), and Health Care & Social Assistance (1,035 people), and the highest paying industries were Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($53,197), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting ($52,842), and Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($48,250).

Employment

Occupations

8.58k

2024 Value

± 891

−11.3%

1 Year decline

± 16.1%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Ruston, LA declined at a rate of −11.3%, from 9.67k employees to 8.58k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Ruston, LA, are Education Instruction, & Library Occupations (1,339 people), Sales & Related Occupations (1,136 people), and Office & Administrative Support Occupations (893 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Ruston, 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

8.58k

2024 Value

± 891

−11.3%

1 Year decline

± 16.1%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Ruston, LA declined at a rate of −11.3%, from 9.67k employees to 8.58k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Ruston, LA, are Educational Services (2,149 people), Retail Trade (1,267 people), and Health Care & Social Assistance (1,035 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Ruston, LA, though some of these residents may live in Ruston, LA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$24,801

Median earning men ± $6,288

$20,898

Median earning women ± $2,068

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($53,447), Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($51,917), and Construction ($31,771).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Public Administration ($28,946), Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($28,506), and Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($25,208).

Education

The student population of Ruston, LA in 2024 is skewed towards men, with 6,246 male students and 5,627 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Ruston, LA are White (1,756 and 76%), Black or African American (232 and 10%), Unknown (99 and 4.28%), and Hispanic or Latino (92 and 3.98%).

The largest universities in Ruston, LA by number of degrees awarded are Louisiana Tech University (2,360 and 100%).

The most popular majors in Ruston, LA are General Business Administration & Management (454 and 19.2%), General Biological Sciences (111 and 4.7%), and Computer Science (92 and 3.9%).

The median tuition cost for a public four year colleges is $6,401 for in-state students and $13,142 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Ruston, LA, the percentage of applicants admitted was 86.4%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 33.4%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 11,873 (52.6% men and 47.4% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2024 there were 11,873 students enrolled in Ruston, LA, 52.6% men and 47.4% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 8,564 records, of which 48.3% were women and 51.7% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Biological Sciences
104 degrees awarded
Mechanical Engineering
83 degrees awarded
General Business Administration & Management
78 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Ruston, LA was General Biological Sciences with 104 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Ruston, LA according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Louisiana Tech University

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

2,360 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Louisiana Tech University with 2,360 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 1,224 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Ruston, LA, which is 1.08 times more than the 1,136 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 1,756 degrees mean that there were 7.57 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 232 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Public, 4-year or above ($6,401) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($3,724) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,590) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Ruston, LA was $225,300 in 2024, which is 0.677 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $226,700 to $225,300, a 0.618% decrease. The homeownership rate in Ruston, LA is 36.2%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Ruston, LA have an average commute time of 15.1 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Ruston, LA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$225,300

Median Property Value 2024

±$21,355

$3,186

Median Property Taxes

±$460

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 Ruston, LA the largest share of households pay taxes in the $800 - $1,499 range.

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

Rent vs Own

36.2%

Homeownership

2024

68.3%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 36.2% of the housing units in Ruston, LA were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 36.7%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Ruston, 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.

$31,120

Median Household Income

± $1,970

8.8k

Number of Households

± 882

In 2024, the median household income of the 8.8k households in Ruston, LA declined from $31,120 from the previous year's value of $32,765.

The following chart displays the households in Ruston, 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 < $10k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Ruston, 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 2024

Drove Alone (71.2%)
Worked At Home (14.9%)
Carpooled (8.79%)

In 2024, 71.2% of workers in Ruston, LA drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (14.9%) and those who carpooled to work (8.79%).

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

15.1 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Ruston, LA have a shorter commute time (15.1 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 0.779% of the workforce in Ruston, LA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

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

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

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

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

39.8% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Ruston, LA (7.89k out of 19.8k 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 18 - 24, followed by Males 18 - 24 and then Males < 5.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Ruston, LA is Black, followed by White and Native American.

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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