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Place dossier plate
SheetLA-SUNSET-LA · Sunset, LA 3,026 pop · income 45th 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 Sunset
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Sunset on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Vivian · lowest
22,675
Vivian · lowest
22,675 median HH income
21.7% of the leader · rank #1
Wattsville · near
66,677
Wattsville · near
66,677 median HH income
63.8% of the leader · rank #2
Sunset · this city
66,684
Sunset · this city
66,684 median HH income
63.8% of the leader · rank #3
Summit Hill · near
66,685
Summit Hill · near
66,685 median HH income
63.8% of the leader · rank #4
Lynchburg · near
66,687
Lynchburg · near
66,687 median HH income
63.8% of the leader · rank #5
Bear Rocks · near
66,688
Bear Rocks · near
66,688 median HH income
63.9% of the leader · rank #6
Sloatsburg · highest
104,444
Sloatsburg · highest
104,444 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 Sunset 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: 3,026.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Sunset places in the 45th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
45th
percentile, household income
43rd
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: Sunset, LA
Louisiana's Sunset is a small town, with 3,026 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. The typical household in Sunset brings in $66,684 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 13.7%. Typical homes in Sunset are valued around $199,400, and the median resident age is 32.8 years. 17.2% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 62.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 29 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 58% from five years earlier.
Living costs in Louisiana run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Louisiana at 88.2 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,007 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Louisiana's average monthly utility costs around $212 (state average). 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 Sunset'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 schools and households to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Sunset, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
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. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Sunset?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 65.5%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Sunset?
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 13.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Sunset?
Within Louisiana, the closest population matches are Vivian (3,020 residents, $22,675 income); South Vacherie (3,048 residents, $85,054 income); Lutcher (3,051 residents, $49,769 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Dover Base Housing, DE (3,026 residents); New Palestine, IN (3,027 residents); Walbridge, OH (3,027 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.
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.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 17.2% 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.
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.
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 Sunset growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +218 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +7.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 29 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+7.3%
2025 estimate
3,194
2020 estimate
2,976
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Below median income · poverty 13.7% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.2 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Louisiana average
D
City profile score · Sunset, LA
48/100
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 D
$66,684
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
17.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
13.7%
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).
Sunset profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 92/100 (A+) · 88.2 index
Household income: 44/100 (D) · $66,684
Bachelor's+ share: 26/100 (F) · 17.2%
Poverty rate: 25/100 (F) · 13.7%
How does Sunset compare to other US cities?
Sunset measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income45% higher than other cities
Home value43% 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 Sunset 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 Sunset near the bottom of Louisiana's cities
Among the 477 Louisiana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Sunset ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Sunset only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#116 of 426
73rd percentile in Louisiana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 477
0th percentile in Louisiana
Median Home Value
#108 of 419
74th percentile in Louisiana
Poverty Rate
#247 of 475
48th percentile in Louisiana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#190 of 477
60th 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
45th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Sunset's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$199,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 57% 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
Sunset's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#6,634 of 15,516
More affordable than 57% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#5,625 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.0×, Sunset sits in the affordable band:
national rank #6,634 of 15,516 and #5,625 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$66,684Sunset, LA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Sunset, 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 Sunset, LA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)17.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)13.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
3,026
Median Income
$66,684
Median Home Value
$199,400
Median Age
32.8
Poverty Rate
13.7%
Labor force participation
62.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
17.2%
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
Sunset's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,976 residents
2021
3,044 residents
2022
3,065 residents
2023
3,077 residents
2024
3,162 residents
2025
3,194 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
29
housing units authorized
Single-Family
29
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
9.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
69
69
0
$9.6M
2020
43
43
0
$9.3M
2021
30
30
0
$4.6M
2022
19
19
0
$4.5M
2023
57
57
0
$10.3M
2024
29
29
0
$6.4M
Permit volume decreased 58% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
65.5%
Carpool
13.9%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
4.0%
Work from Home
9.7%
Other
6.9%
Based on 1,314 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 Sunset. 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 Sunset 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 Sunset sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Sunset 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.