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Place dossier plate
SheetLA-GRAMBLING-LA · Grambling, LA 5,302 pop · income 0th 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 Grambling
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Grambling on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
University of… · lowest
17,625
University of… · lowest
17,625 median HH income
18.5% of the leader · rank #1
Movico · near
17,649
Movico · near
17,649 median HH income
18.5% of the leader · rank #2
Barahona comu… · near
17,662
Barahona comu… · near
17,662 median HH income
18.5% of the leader · rank #3
Grambling · this city
17,670
Grambling · this city
17,670 median HH income
18.5% of the leader · rank #4
San José comu… · near
17,713
San José comu… · near
17,713 median HH income
18.5% of the leader · rank #5
Mayflower · highest
95,521
Mayflower · highest
95,521 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
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 Grambling 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: 5,302.
Nationally, Grambling sits in the 0th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
0th
percentile, household income
35th
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: Grambling, LA
5,302 people live in Grambling, Louisiana - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Grambling brings in $17,670 a year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 53.0%. Grambling's housing stock carries a median value of $176,000, and the median resident age is 21.1 years. About 31.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 38.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 25 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 67% 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. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,007 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Louisiana's average monthly utility costs around $212 (state average). Commute times here average 14.7 minutes, with 58.6% driving alone and 25.2% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 62.4 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Grambling'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 work and mobility to housing and income to comparison shortlist to population change to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Grambling, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Grambling?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 58.6%. The reported mean trip to work is 14.7 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. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
How far does income reach against housing in Grambling?
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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 10.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 53.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Grambling?
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 Chackbay (5,287 residents, $74,141 income); Brownfields (5,263 residents, $50,809 income); St. Martinville (5,367 residents, $33,132 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Mayflower, CA (5,303 residents); Montevideo, MN (5,303 residents); Edinboro, PA (5,303 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.
Is Grambling growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -31 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 25 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Grambling?
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 1 public school within the city match. 31.9% 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.
Poverty estimate
53.0%
Bachelor's degree+
31.9%
Matched public schools
1
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 53.0% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.2 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Louisiana average
F
City profile score · Grambling, LA
34/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share C+
31.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$17,670
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
53.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Grambling profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 92/100 (A+) · 88.2 index
Bachelor's+ share: 61/100 (C+) · 31.9%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $17,670
Poverty rate: 0/100 (F) · 53.0%
How does Grambling compare to other US cities?
Grambling measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income0% higher than other cities
Home value35% 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 Grambling 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 Grambling near the bottom of Louisiana's cities
Among the 477 Louisiana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Grambling ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Grambling only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#417 of 426
2nd percentile in Louisiana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 477
0th percentile in Louisiana
Median Home Value
#155 of 419
63rd percentile in Louisiana
Poverty Rate
#17 of 475
96th percentile in Louisiana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#54 of 477
88th 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
0th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Grambling's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$176,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 65% 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
Grambling's home-value-to-income ratio: 10.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,352 of 15,516
More affordable than 1% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#11,212 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 10.0×, Grambling sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,352 of 15,516 and #11,212 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
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
$17,670Grambling, LA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Grambling, 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 Grambling, LA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)31.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)53.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)38.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,302
Median Income
$17,670
Median Home Value
$176,000
Median Age
21.1
Poverty Rate
53.0%
Labor force participation
38.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
31.9%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Grambling's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
5,345 residents
2021
5,273 residents
2022
5,286 residents
2023
5,289 residents
2024
5,288 residents
2025
5,314 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
25
housing units authorized
Single-Family
25
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
4.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
15
15
0
$2.3M
2020
16
16
0
$2.4M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
7
7
0
$1.1M
2023
6
6
0
$0.9M
2024
25
25
0
$3.2M
Permit volume increased 67% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
14.7 minutes
Drive Alone
58.6%
Carpool
8.6%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
5.1%
Work from Home
25.2%
Other
2.5%
Based on 1,562 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 Grambling. 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 Grambling 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 Grambling sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Grambling 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.