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Towns / Louisiana

Jackson, Louisiana

Jackson is a small town of about 3,900 people in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, New Orleans, is about 93 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,904
down 2.2% since 2020
Household income
$37,844
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Baton Rouge area
90.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Saint Francisville, LA
To New Orleans
93 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 9.2% below the U.S. average in the Baton Rouge metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Jackson to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Jackson 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 town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byWest Feliciana Parish Hospital in Saint Francisville, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 93 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 Jackson 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

Home prices since then
Up 2.1%East Feliciana Parish, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$785 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$37,844U.S.: $80,734
Homes built before 1940
9%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
90.8U.S. average = 100 (the Baton Rouge 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 2.1% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Baton Rouge metro area, not Jackson 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
3,9042020: 3,993
Median age
41.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
10%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
7%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
4%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
18%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
Government (17%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (10%)
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
32%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: West Feliciana Parish Hospital, Saint Francisville, LA, about 10 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: Lane Regional Medical Center, Zachary, LA, about 12 miles away. 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

2 public schools in Jackson, run by East Feliciana Parish.

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
91°F
Days 90°F or hotter
96 a year
Nights at or below freezing
28 a year
Rain and melted snow
58.5 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
189 feet

Weather stations: St Francisville 1 NE (10 miles away) and New Roads 5 NE (12 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

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: West Feliciana Parish Hospital, St. George, New Orleans.

East Feliciana 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

10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Jackson Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Natchez Trace Parkway50 miles
  • Natchez National Historical Park50 miles

Read about Jackson's history on Wikipedia.

Know Jackson?

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

  • Slaughter, LA975 people, 9 miles
  • Wilson, LA357 people, 9 miles
  • Norwood, LA261 people, 11 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.