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Covington, Louisiana

Covington is a small town of about 11,700 people in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, New Orleans, is about 31 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
11,721
up 1.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$295,100
St. Tammany Parish prices up 5.9% since 2022
Household income
$75,851
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Slidell area
92.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
St. Tammany Parish Hospital
To New Orleans
31 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.3% below the U.S. average in the Slidell-Mandeville-Covington metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood51 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 9.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town7 public schools: 4 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySt. Tammany Parish Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 31 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 Covington 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
$295,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 5.9%St. Tammany Parish, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,396 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$75,851U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,900 a yearLouisiana: $1,180
Homes built before 1940
8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
21%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.7U.S. average = 100 (the Slidell-Mandeville-Covington 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 5.9% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Slidell-Mandeville-Covington metro area, not Covington 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
11,7212020: 11,578
Median age
39 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
39%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%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 (23%); retail (13%); professional and business services (11%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Tammany Parish Hospital, Covington, LA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

7 public schools in Covington, run by St. Tammany Parish and Louisiana Key Academy- Northsore.

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
83%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
94%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
40°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
83 a year
Nights at or below freezing
29 a year
Rain and melted snow
62.5 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
22 feet

Weather station: Covington 4 NNW (3 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: New Orleans.

St. Tammany Parish is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Bogue Falaya Park, Division of St. John Historic District (Additional Documentation), Division of St. John Historic District (Boundary Decrease) and the St. Scholastica Priory and Cemetery.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park36 miles
  • Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve38 miles
  • Gulf Islands National Seashore60 miles

Read about Covington's history on Wikipedia.

Know Covington?

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

Smaller places

  • Madisonville, LA877 people, 7 miles
  • Lewisburg, LA (unincorporated)484 people, 8 miles
  • Folsom, LA846 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. 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.