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Sunset, Louisiana

Sunset is a small town of about 3,200 people in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. It has grown about 7% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.4 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 129 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,194
up 7.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$206,100
St. Landry Parish prices up 11% since 2022
Household income
$60,964
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Louisiana
82.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
9 miles
Church Point, LA
To New Orleans
129 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 17.5% below the U.S. average in the parts of Louisiana outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.4 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 Sunset 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 town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Beau Chene High School, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byAcadia St. Landry in Church Point, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 129 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 Sunset 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
$206,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 11%St. Landry Parish, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$860 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$60,964U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
71%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$549 a yearLouisiana: $1,180
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
16%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
82.5U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Louisiana outside metro areas)

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 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Louisiana outside metro areas, not Sunset 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
3,1942020: 2,976
Median age
34.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
9%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
30%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
20%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%
College students
9%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 (19%); retail (17%); professional and business services (11%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
33 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%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: Acadia St. Landry, Church Point, LA, about 9 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: Opelousas General Health System, Opelousas, LA, about 10 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 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

3 public schools in Sunset, run by St. Landry Parish. The nearest public high school is Beau Chene High School, about 4 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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
59%U.S.: 76%

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
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
93 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
44 feet

Weather stations: Grand Coteau (1 mile away) and Lafayette (13 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: Acadia St. Landry, St. George, New Orleans.

St. Landry Parish is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about Sunset's history on Wikipedia.

Know Sunset?

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

  • Grand Coteau, LA759 people, 1 mile
  • Cankton, LA563 people, 5 miles
  • Leonville, LA870 people, 6 miles
  • Arnaudville, LA991 people, 8 miles
  • Ossun, LA (unincorporated)2,271 people, 9 miles
  • Lawtell, LA (unincorporated)1,171 people, 10 miles
  • Cecilia, LA (unincorporated)1,742 people, 14 miles
  • Branch, LA (unincorporated)268 people, 14 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.