County profile

Tensas Parish

Louisiana · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
3,935
Median household income
$36,615
People below poverty
34.4%
Median home value
$86,300

Income

The median income of households in Tensas Parish, Louisiana was $36,615. An estimated 9.4% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 1.8% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 9.4
$10,000 to $14,999 16.5
$15,000 to $24,999 9.3
$25,000 to $34,999 10.9
$35,000 to $49,999 17.9
$50,000 to $74,999 21.7
$75,000 to $99,999 7.5
$100,000 to $149,999 4.8
$150,000 to $199,999 0.3
$200,000 or more 1.8

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 37827
Female 25833

An estimated 55.9% of households received earnings. An estimated 59.1% of households received Social Security and an estimated 26 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $18,292. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 55.9
Social Security 59.1
Retirement income 26
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 10.2
Cash public assistance income 1.6

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 34.4 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 54.8% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 21.3% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 33% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 34.4
Children under 18 years below poverty 54.8
People 65 years old and over below poverty 21.3
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 33

In 2020-2024, 31.8 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 41% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 56.2% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 39% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024, 94.4% had health insurance coverage and 5.6% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 34.8% and public coverage was 78.9%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 0.3%.


In 2020-2024, Tensas Parish, Louisiana had a total population of 3,935 - 2,043 (51.9%) females and 1,892 (48.1%) males. The median age was 47.5 years. An estimated 21.4% of the population was under 18 years, 22.2% was 19 to 44 years, 24.6% was 45 to 64 years, and 28.1 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 67 123
5 to 9 250 102
10 to 14 57 117
15 to 19 79 199
20 to 24 90 16
25 to 29 84 99
30 to 34 65 73
35 to 39 139 147
40 to 44 111 46
45 to 49 89 83
50 to 54 72 122
55 to 59 112 111
60 to 64 181 195
65 to 69 167 114
70 to 74 151 228
75 to 79 68 193
80 to 84 60 24
85 and over 50 51

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 41.6% were White; 54% were Black or African American; 11.7% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 1% were Asian; 26.4% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 2.9% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 1.1% of the people in Tensas Parish, Louisiana were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 41.3% of the people in Tensas Parish, Louisiana were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 1,578 households in Tensas Parish, Louisiana. The average household size was 2.33 people.

Married-couple households made up 32.6% of the households in Tensas Parish, Louisiana while cohabiting couple households made up 1.6% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 42.6% of all households, while 23.1% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 18.3% of households were male householders living alone, and 26.9% were female householders living alone, for a total of 45.2% of all households.

In Tensas Parish, Louisiana, 18.2% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 51.8% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 32.6
Cohabiting Couples 1.6
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
23.1
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
42.6

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 39.7% of males and 34% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 37 33.5
Now married, except separated 39.7 34
Separated 5.9 5.9
Widowed 9.2 19.7
Divorced 8.2 7

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Tensas Parish, Louisiana, 150 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 66% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 99.1% of the people living in Tensas Parish, Louisiana were U.S. natives. 75.4% of the Tensas Parish, Louisiana population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 0.9% of Tensas Parish, Louisiana residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 0% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 100 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Tensas Parish, Louisiana come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Tensas Parish, Louisiana.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 33.3
Asia 66.7
Europe 0
Africa 0
Northern America 0
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024, 1.3 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 0.6% of people at least five years old; 0.3% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 0.6
Other Indo-European languages 0.4
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0.3
Other languages 0

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 92.6 % of the people at least one year old living in Tensas Parish, Louisiana were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 92.6
Different house, same county 3.7
Different county, same state 3.6
Different state 0
Abroad 0.2

Education

In 2020-2024, 80.5 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 14.6% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 19.4% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Tensas Parish, Louisiana was 915 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 116 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 713. College or graduate school enrollment was 86.

Educational Attainment of People in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 19.4
High school diploma or equivalency 40.2
Some college, no degree 22.8
Associate's degree 3
Bachelor's degree 8.6
Graduate or professional degree 6

Disability

In Tensas Parish, Louisiana, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 20.5 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 3.6% of people under 18 years old, to 20.2% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 33.9% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Tensas Parish, Louisiana, 31.4 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 64.6% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 64.9% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 27.7% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 7.4 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 643 64.9
Federal, state, or local government workers 275 27.7
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 73 7.4

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Tensas Parish, Louisiana worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 9
Construction 4.7
Manufacturing 2.4
Wholesale trade 5.7
Retail trade 15.5
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 5.4
Information 1.4
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 3.4
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 10.3
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 22.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 4.4
Other Services, except public administration 1.3
Public administration 13.6

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 195 19.7
Service occupations 312 31.5
Sales and office occupations 289 29.2
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 91 9.2
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 104 10.5

Commuting to Work

An estimated 84% of Tensas Parish, Louisiana workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7.6% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 32.5 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 84
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7.6
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.3
Walked 1.1
Other means 3.5
Worked from home 3.5

In 2020-2024, Tensas Parish, Louisiana had a total of 2,792 housing units. Of these housing units, 77% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 4.1% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 18.7% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 77
Apartments in multi-unit structures 4.1
Mobile homes 18.7
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.3

3.5% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 6% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Tensas Parish, Louisiana was 5.3 rooms, and of these housing units 61.1% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Tensas Parish, Louisiana had 1,578 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 1,214 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 74.2% while renters occupied 25.8%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.33 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.33.

0.5% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 27.6% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 9.5% and another 16.1% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Tensas Parish, Louisiana:

House Heating Fuel Used in Tensas Parish, Louisiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 42.6
Electricity 54.1
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0
All other fuels 3.1
No fuel used 0.2

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Tensas Parish, Louisiana was $86,300.

Of the owner-occupied households, 27.2 % had a mortgage. 72.8% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $981 and for owners without a mortgage it was $433.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Tensas Parish, Louisiana was $601. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.