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Towns / Louisiana

Scott, Louisiana

Scott is a suburb of about 9,600 people in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, in the Lafayette area. It's growing fast: its population is up 18% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3 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 130 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom townSuburb of Lafayette

Population
9,635
up 18% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$170,300
Lafayette Parish prices up 4.8% since 2022
Household income
$56,299
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Lafayette area
87.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Lafayette, LA
To New Orleans
130 mi
straight line

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 3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood63 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 6.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 16.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 3 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byOchsner University Hospital and Clinics in Lafayette, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 130 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 Scott 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

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Scott runs into the built-up area around Lafayette (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

Boom town. The population is up 18% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

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
$170,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 4.8%Lafayette Parish, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,052 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$56,299U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
75%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$993 a yearLouisiana: $1,180
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 Scott 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
9,6352020: 8,170
Median age
42 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%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 (12%); manufacturing (12%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
25 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%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 4 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

5 public schools in Scott, run by Lafayette Parish.

Colleges in or next to town: South Louisiana Community College (5,000 to 9,999 students); Academy of Interactive Entertainment (under 1,000 students).

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
77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
83%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
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
32 feet

Weather station: Lafayette (2 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: Ochsner University Hospital and Clinics, St. George, 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about Scott's history on Wikipedia.

Know Scott?

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

  • Ossun, LA (unincorporated)2,271 people, 3 miles
  • Cankton, LA563 people, 7 miles
  • Grand Coteau, LA759 people, 13 miles
  • Branch, LA (unincorporated)268 people, 13 miles
  • Arnaudville, LA991 people, 15 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.