Living in Duson, Louisiana: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.8% below the U.S. average in the Lafayette metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.2 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 Duson 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 town4 public schools: 3 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Rayne High School, about 5 miles away.
A hospital close byOchsner University Hospital and Clinics in Lafayette, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 135 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 Duson 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: $54,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 4.8%Lafayette Parish, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $743 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $25,054U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $215 a yearLouisiana: $1,180
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 22%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 87.2U.S. average = 100 (the Lafayette 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 4.8% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Lafayette metro area, not Duson 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: 1,3572020: 1,345
Median age: 42 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 27%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: 6%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: Construction (19%); schools, health care and social services (17%)
Work from home: 4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 39%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Ochsner University Hospital and Clinics, Lafayette, LA, about 9 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

4 public schools in Duson, run by Lafayette Parish. The nearest public high school is Rayne High School, 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.

Weather

January average low: 41°F
July average high: 91°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 80 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 18 a year
Rain and melted snow: 64.7 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 30 feet

Weather station: Lafayette (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

Ochsner University Hospital and ClinicsEmergency room9

Lake Charles, LACity of 83,00061

New Orleans, LAMetro of 1 million135

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: Ochsner University Hospital and Clinics, Lake Charles, New Orleans.

Lafayette 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

Read about Duson's history on Wikipedia.

Know Duson?

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

Rayne, LA7,000 people, 5 miles
Scott, LA9,600 people, 6 miles
Maurice, LA3,200 people, 10 miles
Carencro, LA13,200 people, 10 miles
Crowley, LA11,200 people, 11 miles
Milton, LA2,800 people, 11 miles

Smaller places

Ossun, LA (unincorporated)2,271 people, 6 miles
Cankton, LA563 people, 9 miles
Branch, LA (unincorporated)268 people, 9 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.