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St. Francisville, Louisiana

St. Francisville is a small town of about 1,500 people in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. It's the county seat. It has lost about 4% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.8 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 100 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
1,484
down 3.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$275,000
West Feliciana Parish prices up 12% since 2022
Household income
$57,105
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Baton Rouge area
90.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
West Feliciana Parish Hospital
To New Orleans
100 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 moneyA typical home costs 4.8 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 St. Francisville 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: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byWest Feliciana Parish Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 100 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 St. Francisville 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
$275,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 12%West Feliciana Parish, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,083 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$57,105U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
59%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,311 a yearLouisiana: $1,180
Homes built before 1940
9%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
6%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 12% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Baton Rouge metro area, not St. Francisville 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
1,4842020: 1,539
Median age
28.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
35%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
30%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%U.S.: 6%
College students
11%share of all residents

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 (41%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%); government (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, in town. 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 15 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

4 public schools in St. Francisville, run by West 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.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription
85%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
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
131 feet

Weather stations: St Francisville 1 NE (1 mile away) and New Roads 5 NE (4 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: St. George, New Orleans.

West 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

19 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Rosedown Plantation, the St. Francisville Historic District and St. Francisville Historic District (Boundary Increase). One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Natchez Trace Parkway52 miles
  • Natchez National Historical Park52 miles

Read about St. Francisville's history on Wikipedia.

Know St. Francisville?

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

  • Ventress, LA (unincorporated)1,166 people, 8 miles
  • Morganza, LA491 people, 13 miles
  • Slaughter, LA975 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.