Living in Bernice, Louisiana: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 16.4% below the U.S. average in the Monroe metro area.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Bernice to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Bernice itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Junction City High School, about 14 miles away.
A hospital close byReeves Memorial Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityMemphis is about 220 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Bernice meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $80,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 28%Union Parish, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $695 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes built before 1940: 6%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 83.6U.S. average = 100 (the Monroe metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 28% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Monroe metro area, not Bernice alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,3052020: 1,356
Median age: 41.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 8%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 7%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (21%); construction (16%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 1%U.S.: 15%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Reeves Memorial Medical Center, Bernice, LA, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Northern Louisiana Medical Center, Ruston, LA, about 22 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Bernice itself. The nearest public high school is Junction City High School, about 14 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Louisiana's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Weather

January average low: 36°F
July average high: 92°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 81 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 39 a year
Rain and melted snow: 57.2 inches a year
Snow: 1 inches a year
Elevation: 212 feet

Weather stations: Farmerville (15 miles away) and Spearsville Fire Twr (7 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Bossier City, LACity of 63,00062

Memphis, TNMetro of 1.3 million220

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Bossier City, Memphis.

Union Parish is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about Bernice's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bernice?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Farmerville, LA3,400 people, 15 miles
Ruston, LA22,000 people, 20 miles
Grambling, LA5,300 people, 21 miles
Choudrant, LA1,000 people, 22 miles
Homer, LA2,500 people, 23 miles
Arcadia, LA2,500 people, 24 miles

Smaller places

Lillie, LA109 people, 6 miles
Spearsville, LA123 people, 8 miles
Dubach, LA899 people, 9 miles
Lisbon, LA158 people, 12 miles
Junction City, LA412 people, 13 miles
Junction City, AR476 people, 14 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.