USA Today recently published a list of the poorest towns in each state and Natchitoches made the list for Louisiana.
The article states that the poorest towns in each state typically have median household income tens of thousands below the rest of the state. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed federal data on median annual household income in over 2,600 cities, towns, villages, and Census designated places to identify the poorest town in every state.
Louisiana: Natchitoches
• Median household income: $21,854 (state: $47,942)
• Poverty rate: 46.8% (state: 19.4%)
• Median home value: $156,000 (state: $157,800)
• Population: 18,080
Why didn’t you post RedNecks comment on the subject of what Victoria said about Natchitoches being racist red necks???
To anyone who thinks like Victoria does that thinks Natchitoches is nothing but a town full of racist dumb RedNecks is a racist way of thinking towards the what’s now the minority group of people who live in the town of Natchitoches! It’s true that for years the same people who have more money and power in town still have control of what happens or what gets done ahead of anything else because of the power that their wealth brings, unless you can weed out the people who are in a position of power that continue to line their pockets with money that is meant for better roads and schools and sidewalks and the list goes on your stuck with the same old good ole boy politicians getting voted back in to office year after year, example Victor Jones became the sheriff and stayed in office until he wanted to retire so I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that people of color out number those hard working dumb racist red necks that you pointed out in the town of Natchitoches better known as a haven for welfare and food stamp recipients and if i remember correctly every kid in town sits, sees, learns, everything that any other kid in the same class does so nothing or nobody can say that white privileged racist people are holding any race of people down or back from being anything they want to be except the people who are raising them to believe that they will never amount to anything because of all the racist white red necks that really do not exists anymore! Just remember without all the so-called racist red necks working and paying taxes a whole lot of people would end up homeless and hungry think about that take a couple Xanax smoke a blunt and wake up!! 😷
I think your whole comment shows how racist you are I’m sure you could explain that better than what you did about color
Is this only looking within the City Limits of Natchitoches?
If it is then I am willing to bet it is very correct. Most of the money in Natchitoches resides outside the city limits, not in. Yes, there are some very nice houses down Williams Ave, around St. Clair area and other parts of town, but there are also apartment complexes all over town with individuals who live on welfare or are working a job with minimum wage. Also consider most of those who live in the apartment complexes are also one income residents and that brings down the numbers drastically.
Lets also consider all the students who live inside the city limits and work part time. This is why studies can be very deceiving because they are only considering one area and not looking at it as a whole.
Before we start assigning blame and pointing fingers let’s stop, think, research and see how we can be part of the solution. First thing I’m going to do is research in depth each candidate before election time to see who is best for the change we need. Voting is a powerful tool. I’m also going to try and stay abreast of the operations of my town. Knowledge is power. As we can see pointing fingers and complaining has never helped any situation. It’s easy to sit and point out all the negative and that attitude is contagious! Before you know it everyone is on the negative band wagon. I can’t control anything or anyone nor do I want. I can control myself and I choose to be part of the solution. Peace and blessings to all.
Pure racism that’s the problem with this red neck town.
They blew a golden opportunity for a lot of tax revenue when they voted to pass on gambling.
Do you really want to put gambling in a city with a 46% poverty rate? So it will go up to 60%.
Also, the everyday cost of living in natchitoches is high. I have lived in 9 states in 10 years from 6 months to over a year in each. Fuel taxes vary, property taxes vary, but NONE had a sales tax rate over 7%. None charged local or state sales tax on food. For the most part, food prices were lower. Real estate and rental prices were equal or lower. Infrastructure makes Louisiana look third world.
Industry doesn’t want to build in a poverty area. We need an educated work force. No, we don’t need more money for school, or more teachers. Education has to start in the home. I would blame our problem on parents, not schools or teachers.
Our roads are horrible, the schools are below par, no industry to amount to anything and wages suck. You need more than a ballpark and tourists to make a town money
Does this take into account the collage student population who are basically without income.
The first thing our Parish needs to do is to enforce some laws and ordinance /
Second, our Parish is trashy, roads are in bad shape.
Third, We have ineffective economic counsel.
Forth, Other State are benefitting by our local educated kids. (Sad)
Fifth, Parish needs a hard review and abolish unnecessary positions. (like Parish Marshall)
lastly. It seems like the Parish is keeping business competition to a minimum. (Not good)
I left Natchitoches in the mid 80s and found out just how bad it was when I started working in the north east my hourly pay doubled , paid holidays, paid vacation, company vehicle, sick days with pay , health insurance paid for by employers and the roads didn’t beat you to death! As far as the town goes every person who owns a rental property wants way to much because of the kids going to the college from out of town and local people can’t afford it! I remember a time when you could go out on a Friday and Saturday night and find plenty to do and bring money into the town even if you were just cruising the strip but that got canned because of a few bad apples trashing the parking lots! I had a great time growing up in Natchitoches but I wouldn’t want to raise any kids there now because as I have always told my kids Natchitoches is a go nowhere town with nothing to do but watch potholes in the roads get bigger and the grass grow!!
I have lived in many places over the years. I have lived in Natchitoches for a small number of years. From what I have seen, Natchitoches wants what it is not willing to pay for. Roads are crap, sidewalks are practically non-existent. Construction standards need to established and enforced. If a developer fails in building quality roads or sidewalks, haul his butt to court. And never , ever allow him to build so much as a doghouse in the town. People comment here about there’s nothing for young people to do. Folks, there’s nothing, or very little, for any one of any age to do here. For example, the area is surrounded by water. Not a marina in sight. You either pay for over-priced waterfront property, or you constantly pull a boat in and out of the water.
I lived in Natchitoches a long time, and then move to a big city, you will find out how great a small town like Natchitoches is. It has much to offer, and I can’t imagine how it could be on such a list. What it doesn’t have in money it has in the richness of its culture. Certainly a great place to live.
For some of your comments as it relates to jobs and companies starting or building a business here, companies look at a few factors: 1. Infrastructure- this includes logistics, transportation, roads, railway and waterways in order to see if it is cost effective. 2. Labor- you have to have a workforce that is trained and skilled in order to perform the tasks. A company that requires highly skilled or educated workforce will not invest in an area with low graduation rates and/or a low percentage of the population with college degrees which leads me to…..3. Education- most companies that move into or build in an area bring in some outside people from other states to get the business off the ground. This often requires people to relocate. Most people, especially if they have a family or kids look at the schools in an area. If schools are not up to par than people will not come here no matter how much money the company pays them. So with all of this being said, as one commenter stated, you have to fix the school.
When we have so many able bodies that won’t work and their income is welfare, it brings everyone else down. We just have too many people we are paying not to work.
Don’t conflate poverty rate with unemployment. A person working 60 hours a week for on minimum wage is still in poverty by the standard they use to get their percentage. No disagreeing, but it’s more complicated than what you say.
The national poverty threshold for even a 3 person family is below $23k/y…js…
Personally, I think the government needs to get rid of welfare for able-bodied individuals. Force them to better their lives and actually WORK.
This brings me to a question I have been pondering, a 46.8% poverty rate only entitles our city to the lower level grocery store from Brookshires, Super One. So how do we qualify to get a Hobby Lobby? I am sure a chain that large does demographic studies as well. I would love an answer if anyone has one.
that’s a great question.I would love to see a Krogers or Safeway here
and a Target.Probably why most people go out of town to grocery shop
and cloth shop and even car shop.
What kind of grocery store do you want or need?
It’s a political politician to politician thing. You can rest assure. Sad but true
Look up tiff tax, even if Hobby Lobby doesn’t make a profit…we as citizens are paying for it. Check with your councilman!
the old money in this town is controlling everything that’s why this town is so behind we need better eating places things for the younger generation and better schools not a baseball field that the people in this little town will have to pay for and most of all these lieing councilmen and councilwoman we need them gone asap……
You have.pay workers more than mimium wages $7.25 per hour what kind of annual income one going to have with that
Natchitoches, soon to be Ferriday on the Cane.
Only one step ahead of Bastrop and Tallulah now. Natchitoches ranked lower in the article Tallulah.
Natchitoches ducks donkey sacks most of the people are really crabs and are super toxic each day spent here robs me of anything good inside me not much economic opportunities here the very few jobs are plant jobs that are the absolute worst the people are very small minded and bullish if you choose not to be apart of the drama
Minimum wage 7.25 , starting price 100,000 if you want to become a home owner … It just doesn’t match up….
Speaking of bad roads, when will any road repair take place. One in particular is Wilkerson Rd.
6 different banks and 14 branches, there’s money somewhere in natchitoches
6 different banks and 14 branches,there’s money somewhere
The church’s
When there is no significant advances in economic growth and opportunities that’s a clear sign things are going as planned. Without growth the same people stay in power and keep their friends and family program intact. Bet same families have run things since who knows when. With growth comes change which the powers that be do not want.
The hospital and local college has little to do with income. As it goes for shootings and parks, that’s everywhere even when it’s not reported in the local news. Similar to St. Mary’s students drinking and shooting on the Riverbank.
We can blame everyone and everything but ultimately, it’s the local chamber of commerce responsibility. Even on our local website it’s promoted as celebrating yesterday.
When you desire to be known as a retirement town, you will snuff the life out of its citizens as a majority.
How many local children attend Northwestern and stay here after graduation?
How often do we have others assume the worst while cooking Meth and popping pills in the upper class parts of town?
You my friends are out of touch.
How many local businesses persons are secretly taking drugs and energy drinks as their daily dose of coffee?
Let’s not play the moral oral!
Which other towns are they comparing it to? With the university here, the hospital, and other successful businesses I would think that would push income up. There are certainly more higher incomes at those places than towns without those. I am suspect of this article knowing what we have in Natchitoches. Are they only comparing Natchitoches to larger communities like Shreveport and New Orleans?
Natchitoches barley has anything and to get those jobs you need a degree or certification so please get over yourself thinking this town has money
Natchitoches needs more attractions. I moved away because Natchitoches didn’t have much of offer other than the festivals which are nothing like they used to be. Couldn’t even get around unless you have a car or know someone with a car. What happened to the Greyhound bus? Taxis or even Lyft and Uber? Walmart is not a mall. Then there’s enough land for a nice size water park.
Comparing Natchitoches to Natchitoches, I’ve lived here all my life. Fast food restaurants don’t pay the bills.
The wages to blacks in Natchitoches is the reason why. They dont pay very well in Natchitoches. As a police officer there i started off at 10 dollars and hour. The person watering the flowers in Down Town Natchitoches makes more money then the police officers who put there lives on the line daily. Its a shame how the city pays.
Amen, Bro! Cops are underpaid, under-appreciated, and over-worked.
Read the article.
For Gee Gee, the poverty rate is the poverty rate. Makes no difference which towns they are comparing it to.
All we need to do to fix it is have a couple more shootings and build a few more parks on the property the city keeps buying and all the families with money will move back to the city. We’ve got this.
lol.I love it Joe,great answer.Ball park tax payers didn’t want or vote on.
hell ! who needs residents when the city will decide for you.
Priorities are so screwed up around here.
Natchitoches hangs its economic hat on tourism. Tourism dollars benefit a relative few. Improve the school system, and the parish will become more attractive to business and industry.
true .
Has always poor they still think we are 1936. This is a new era get on board with your people’s it been to long I no iam from Louisiana born and raised that is way I left no money no jobs minimum wage help the people’s economy get off all that money you can not take it with you
Could you repeat that in English, please?
You have to want to bring in new industry.
M1, don’t you know the powers that be consider tourism OUR industry. Our biggest and best industry. They built an improved river bank, then decided to let water lines collapse when the new hotel for our biggest industry was built, then there was no money to do any improvements in the infrastructure because a new Parc (a university town and still we confuse kids with misspelling of a word they might use on occasion, but our schools are too busy teaching how to take those tests instead of teaching children what they need to know and how to do regular math so they know how much money they have when they get a job out of high school or college, but they have to print the payable to and amounts on those checks because they were never taught cursive) was built for our large tourist industry that might stay overnight or might not, and our kids still suffer. Man, I love run-on sentences. I know a few that will write an entire letter like that. They are really hard to read sometimes, but so much fun to write, especially when you are frustrated with the local government!
I stuck with you until the end of that rant. In spite of your problems with grammar and punctuation, I wholeheartedly agree with you. My question is this (and it’s directed to most of you who commented on this article): if so many of you are so dissatisfied with things around here, why do you keep electing the same people for office?
Thanks for sticking with me, though I really don’t have problems with grammar and punctuation. The problems with the city and the parish seem to all be tied together, so it’s just lends itself to a run-on sentence. First, I can’t vote in the city as I don’t live in the city. Second, I didn’t elect the Parish President that seems to be knee deep in problems and maybe in giving us the complete truth and in possible under the table deals. Yes, I still don’t trust the money being put into the roads. I want to know how and why they picked those roads. I haven’t heard any answers to my questions on that particular issue. Is everything completely on the up and up, or do we see any under the table deals?
I agree. What the poor in Natchitoches need is a “Champion” from among them whom the “might” hear, and who understands the multi-headed nature of the beast which makes desolate poverty prevalent in any community: Lack of KNOWLEDGE of what to do, HOW TO DO IT, WHY it should be done a certain WAY, and when and where different aspects of the development of a community needs to take roots, action and place. The time is NOW for those with UNDERSTANDING and COMPASSION for the poor of Natchitoches – OUR CHILDREN BEING THE HARDEST HIT IN ALL THIS DESOLATE POVERTY – in the strength of the Lord our God and LEAD the people into greener pastures with a patient plan of relevant skills producing education for youth, re-education for young adults, attraction or creation of relevant job creating businesses and opportunities owned by the poor and blacks in Natchitoches, an incentive to youth and others to communicate with one another with a new Godly sense of love, respect and genuine empathy or caring, and a firm and stable committment to improving HOUSING, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, CREATION OF SMALL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CREDIT UNIONS where poor members and shareholders can, with discipline and a decent credit rating, make low interest loans for small businesses, housing repairs and college and post-secondary apprenticeship education and training for their children; and insistence on establishing a culturally relevant HISTORICAL CULTURAL EVENT that touches all generations and encourages them to be STAKEHOLDERS and OWNERS of that historical culture. We must consider best practices for all ages of mankind of pulling up under great oppression to become prosperous even in difficult times as did our ancestors and the Hebrew children of Jacob in the days just prior to the advent of Moses. Christ tells us to pray the Lord of the harvest that he send chosen laborers into his harvest; which is plentiful, and for which there are few acceptable “LABORERS.” Who among us is willing to labor with God for the good of all their brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends, and even peaceful strangers among us, to MAKE OUR WAY TO PROSPER IN GOD’S WILL, to WALK IN HIS WAY, and TO HAVE GOOD SUCCESS? If you are interested in these type issues, please contact Rev. Vincent C. Cofield, Executive Director, Henry O. Flipper Foundation Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit Community Development organization currently being considered as a HUD approved Community Housing Development Organization, as we await initial funding of two small new-construction housing projects: a single-family 2 bedroom, 1 bath house on Grace Avenue; and a Duplex project of 2 bedrooms, 1 bath on Sanford Street, on the Jackson Square. It’s time for us to rise up and wisely use the few resources available to us by the providence of God for such purposes as expressed herein, and for the attrition of the blight, social dysfunction (even of so called leaders), lack of strong and courageous leadership in touch with reality and the hurdles that poverty and lack of adequate education, relevant employee skills, and access to financing do to KEEP poor people poor, and a few with a haughty attitude that they are something when they are not. That’s Henry O. Flipper Foundation Inc., 1556 Texas Street, Natchitoches, LA 71457 (318) 521-3778. Thank you for taking the time to read this comment, and may God enable each of us to MAKE OUR WAY TO PROSPER IN HIS WILL, and may God grant and endow us with GOOD SUCCESS.
Rev. Vincent C. Cofield
Perfect response. I’ve been saying this for 40+ yrs.
Natchitoches needs to stop being afraid of changing. I’m glad I moved. Everyone doesn’t have a vehicle of their own and it gets too hot to be walking. Greyhound been taken away. Natchitoches is stuck in the past. No taxis, Uber or Lyft. If it’s a city where’s the city bus? I’ve always wondered why it’s the city of lights but it’s a town of lights.
I realize tourists bring a great deal of revenue to the City but there has got to be more for the parish. Please mayor, representatives and Police Jury bring some industry to our area. Our young men need jobs. And don’t say they won’t work. They need a chance. We NEED JOBS. And if a candidate isn’t talking about JOBS ask them what their plan is.
little deceiving though,it shouldn’t be poorest town but Parish.
I agree matt
why is this a surprise ? no good jobs around,roads are god awful.
Unless you want to work in the oilfields, the highest paying jobs in Natchitoches are at Weyerhaeuser… and there’s only so many of them…
Problem down there is simple… Nothing has fully recovered from Katerina. It isn’t just Natchitoches that looks ridden harder than Jenna Jamison or Tracy Lords. It’s damn near the entire state.