Ouachita Parish, Louisiana

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Ouachita Parish, Louisiana

Map
Location in the state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1807
Seat	Monroe
Largest city	Monroe
Area - Total - Land - Water	633 sq mi (1,639 km²) 611 sq mi (1,581 km²) 22 sq mi (57 km²), 3.50%
Population - (2000) - Density	147, 250 241/sq mi (93/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Named for: Ouachita Native Americans

Ouachita Parish is a parish (population 147,250 as of the 2000 census) located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Monroe. Ouachita Parish is included in the Monroe, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The parish bears the same name as the Ouachita River, which flows through southern Arkansas and northeastern Louisiana. A documentary entitled The Gift of the Ouachita by filmmaker George C. Brian (1919-2007), head of the Division of Theater and Drama at the University of Louisiana at Monroe is a history of Monroe as the "gift of the Ouachita River."

1 Geography
- 1.1 Major highways
- 1.2 Adjacent parishes
2 Demographics
3 Education
- 3.1 Primary and Secondary Schools
4 Communities
- 4.1 Cities and towns
- 4.2 Census-designated places
5 See also
6 References

[edit] Geography

The parish has a total area of 633 square miles (1,639 km²), of which, 611 square miles (1,581 km²) of it is land and 22 square miles (57 km²) of it (3.50%) is water.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent parishes

Union Parish (north)
Morehouse Parish (northeast)
Richland Parish (east)
Caldwell Parish (south)
Jackson Parish (southwest)
Lincoln Parish (west)

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 147,250 people, 55,216 households, and 38,319 families residing in the parish. The population density was 241 people per square mile (93/km²). There were 60,154 housing units at an average density of 98 per square mile (38/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 64.48% White, 33.63% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races. 1.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.


Census	Pop.		%±
1900	20,947		—
1910	25,830		23.3%
1920	30,319		17.4%
1930	54,337		79.2%
1940	59,168		8.9%
1950	74,713		26.3%
1960	101,663		36.1%
1970	115,387		13.5%
1980	139,241		20.7%
1990	142,191		2.1%
2000	147,250		3.6%
Est. 2006	149,259	^[2]	1.4%
Ouachita Parish Census Data^[3]

There were 55,216 households out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.70% were married couples living together, 17.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.60% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the parish the population was spread out with 27.90% under the age of 18, 12.00% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 20.30% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 89.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.50 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $32,047, and the median income for a family was $40,206. Males had a median income of $31,616 versus $23,139 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $17,084. About 15.80% of families and 20.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.70% of those under age 18 and 15.80% of those age 65 or over.