The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 17.5% below the U.S. average in the parts of Louisiana outside metro areas.
- More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Cottonport 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 town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Red River Charter Academy, about 5 miles away.
- A hospital close byBunkie General Hospital in Bunkie, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 142 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 Cottonport 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.
What kind of town
Cottonport has lost about 5% of its people since 2020, and about 1 in 6 homes stands empty (not counting vacation homes or homes for sale or rent). A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.
The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.
For a lifetime
Homes and money
- Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
- $88,300U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 11%Avoyelles Parish, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $738 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $31,875U.S.: $80,734
- Typical property tax bill
- $301 a yearLouisiana: $1,180
- Homes built before 1940
- 9%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 3%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 0%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 82.5U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Louisiana outside metro areas)
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 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Louisiana outside metro areas, not Cottonport 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
- 1,9162020: 2,024
- Median age
- 31.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 14%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 36%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 11%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 0%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
- Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (7%)
- Unemployment rate
- 6%U.S.: 5%
- Work from home
- 1%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 27%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Bunkie General Hospital, Bunkie, LA, about 8 miles away. 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: Avoyelles Hospital, Marksville, LA, about 11 miles away. Medicare gives it 1 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
1 public school in Cottonport, run by Avoyelles Parish. The nearest public high school is Red River Charter Academy, about 5 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.
Internet
- Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
- 66%U.S.: 76%
- Homes with any internet subscription
- 86%U.S.: 91%
Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Weather
- January average low
- 39°F
- July average high
- 93°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 90 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 20 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 61.6 inches a year
- Snow
- 0 inches a year
- Elevation
- 59 feet
Weather station: Bunkie (8 miles away). 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
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: Bunkie General Hospital, St. George, New Orleans.
Avoyelles Parish is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).
For a day
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Natchez National Historical Park54 miles
- Natchez Trace Parkway56 miles
Read about Cottonport's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Mansura, LA1,300 people, 5 miles
- Bunkie, LA3,100 people, 8 miles
- Marksville, LA4,700 people, 9 miles
- Simmesport, LA1,400 people, 14 miles
- Ville Platte, LA6,200 people, 25 miles
- Pine Prairie, LA1,600 people, 26 miles
Smaller places
- Evergreen, LA208 people, 4 miles
- Plaucheville, LA208 people, 4 miles
- Moreauville, LA928 people, 5 miles
- Hessmer, LA740 people, 6 miles
- Fifth Ward, LA (unincorporated)1,277 people, 11 miles
- Morrow, LA (unincorporated)153 people, 11 miles
- Bordelonville, LA (unincorporated)150 people, 12 miles
- Echo, LA (unincorporated)552 people, 14 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas
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.