Oil City, Louisiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oil City is a town in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,219 at the 2000 census.

The town was represented in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1988 until 2006 by the Democrat Roy McArthur "Hoppy" Hopkins (born 1943), a former Oil City alderman and mayor. Hopkins, a former automobile dealer, died in office with a year left in his fifth term.

Oil City is located on Louisiana Highway 1 north of Caddo Lake. The Louisiana State Oil and Gas Museum, a free attraction promoted by the late state Representative Hopkins, is located in Oil City.

[edit] Geography

Oil City is located at 32°44′32″N, 93°58′28″W (32.742170, -93.974376)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.8 km² (1.9 mi²). 4.6 km² (1.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (3.23%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,219 people, 480 households, and 311 families residing in the town. The population density was 262.9/km² (679.9/mi²). There were 542 housing units at an average density of 116.9/km² (302.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 55.13% White, 44.05% African American, 0.08% Native American, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.72% of the population.

There were 480 households out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.5% were married couples living together, 21.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the town the population was spread out with 32.2% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $19,375, and the median income for a family was $25,114. Males had a median income of $23,516 versus $15,667 for females. The per capita income for the town was $9,697. About 28.8% of families and 35.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.1% of those under age 18 and 28.4% of those age 65 or over.