Opelousas is home to 15,495 people in Louisiana. 37.4% of people here live below the federal poverty line. Four-year degrees are less common here than nationally, at 11% of adults. Households here earn about 46% less than in Louisiana as a whole. The typical home is worth $105,100, having more than doubled since 2000. The foreign-born share is 1%.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $32,964, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Younger
median age 37.1
US median: 38.9
Less educated
11% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Stable housing
home values roughly flat, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Opelousas
What changed most since 1990
Black share60.6% → 76.5%(+15.8 pts)US over the same years: +0.2 pts
Median home value (2024 dollars)$95,523 → $105,100(+10%)US over the same years: +67%
Population18,151 → 15,495(−15%)US over the same years: +35%
Opelousas's population equals 19% of St. Landry Parish's. Its number of households without a car equals 44% of the county's. Its number of foreign-born residents equals 9.6% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)35.5%(148)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)21.1%(88)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era24%(100)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War10.3%(43)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II1.2%(5)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 417 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Opelousas, decade by decade
Opelousas population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
18,151
$28,342
$95,523
12.9%
61.3
2000
22,860
$26,809
$92,176
10.8%
55.2
2010
16,634
$27,615
$117,963
13.4%
48.9
2020
15,786
$39,592
$149,202
17.1%
46.5
2024
15,495
$32,964
$105,100
10.7%
48.3
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
