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Place dossier plate
SheetLA-CENTRAL-LA · Central, LA 29,603 pop · income 71st pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Central
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Central on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Anderson · lowest
44,321
Anderson · lowest
44,321 median HH income
47.1% of the leader · rank #1
Dixonville · near
90,081
Dixonville · near
90,081 median HH income
95.8% of the leader · rank #2
Highlands · near
90,082
Highlands · near
90,082 median HH income
95.8% of the leader · rank #3
Suffolk · near
90,089
Suffolk · near
90,089 median HH income
95.8% of the leader · rank #4
Central · this city
90,091
Central · this city
90,091 median HH income
95.8% of the leader · rank #5
Meiners Oaks · near
90,096
Meiners Oaks · near
90,096 median HH income
95.8% of the leader · rank #6
Laurel · highest
94,063
Laurel · highest
94,063 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Central on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 29,603.
Central ranks in the 71st percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
71st
percentile, household income
60th
percentile, home value
16th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Central, LA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 29,603 residents in Central, a small city within Louisiana. The typical household in Central brings in $90,091 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.6%. Central's housing stock carries a median value of $270,700, and the median resident age is 40.3 years. Educational attainment runs 32.7% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 61.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 95 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 37% from five years earlier.
Living costs in Louisiana run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Louisiana scores 88.2 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,007 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $212 across Louisiana, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Commute times here average 26.6 minutes, with 85.3% driving alone and 6.8% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 62.4 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Central's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from schools and households to housing and income to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Central, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history, local building permits, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Central?
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 32.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
How far does income reach against housing in Central?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.6%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the journey to work look like in Central?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 85.3%. The reported mean trip to work is 26.6 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Which cities make useful reference points for Central?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within Louisiana, the closest population matches are Slidell (28,664 residents, $66,657 income); Laplace (28,480 residents, $68,028 income); New Iberia (27,926 residents, $50,802 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Laurel, MD (29,594 residents); Raytown, MO (29,593 residents); Schererville, IN (29,627 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Population change
Is Central growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +748 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 95 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
2020 estimate
29,565
2025 estimate
30,313
Period change
+2.5%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Above median income · poverty 4.6% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.2 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Louisiana average
B
City profile score · Central, LA
73/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A+
88.2 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income B-
$90,091
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate B-
4.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C+
32.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Central profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 92/100 (A+) · 88.2 index
Household income: 69/100 (B-) · $90,091
Poverty rate: 68/100 (B-) · 4.6%
Bachelor's+ share: 63/100 (C+) · 32.7%
How does Central compare to other US cities?
Here's how Central stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income71% higher than other cities
Home value60% pricier than other cities
Median rent16% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Central against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Louisiana only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Louisiana-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Central near the bottom of Louisiana's cities
Among the 477 Louisiana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Central ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Central only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#39 of 426
91st percentile in Louisiana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 477
0th percentile in Louisiana
Median Home Value
#35 of 419
92nd percentile in Louisiana
Poverty Rate
#407 of 475
14th percentile in Louisiana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#49 of 477
90th percentile in Louisiana
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Louisiana only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
71st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Central's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$270,70040th percentilemore affordable than 40% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Central's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#6,719 of 15,516
More affordable than 57% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#911 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.0×, Central sits in the moderate band:
national rank #6,719 of 15,516 and #911 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$90,091Central, LA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Central, LA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Central, LA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)32.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)61.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
29,603
Median Income
$90,091
Median Home Value
$270,700
Median Age
40.3
Poverty Rate
4.6%
Labor force participation
61.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
32.7%
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Central's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
29,565 residents
2021
29,592 residents
2022
29,794 residents
2023
29,972 residents
2024
30,237 residents
2025
30,313 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
95
housing units authorized
Single-Family
91
detached homes
Multifamily
4
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.2
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
150
140
10
$24.5M
2020
137
137
0
$21.7M
2021
218
216
2
$50.5M
2022
142
142
0
$30.1M
2023
92
92
0
$27.4M
2024
95
91
4
$23.8M
Permit volume decreased 37% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
26.6 minutes
Drive Alone
85.3%
Carpool
5.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.1%
Work from Home
6.8%
Other
1.3%
Based on 13,827 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Louisiana statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $212
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Louisiana at $212 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Louisiana statewide averages, not a meter reading for Central. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Louisiana's BEA cost-of-living index is 88.2 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Central is $1,007/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Louisiana statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 62.4 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Louisiana statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Central sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Central compares to similar-size Louisiana cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.