Living in Urania, Louisiana: homes, schools and costs

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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Urania to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Urania 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 town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Lasalle High School, about 4 miles away.
A hospital close byHardtner Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 187 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 Urania 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: $94,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 32%LaSalle Parish, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $950 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes built before 1940: 8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%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 32% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Louisiana outside metro areas, not Urania 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: 1,1552020: 1,136
Median age: 36.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 13%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 5%U.S.: 36%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Work from home: 7%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: Hardtner Medical Center, Olla, 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: Citizens Medical Center, Columbia, LA, about 19 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

1 public school in Urania, run by LaSalle Parish. The nearest public high school is Lasalle 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: 27%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: 36°F
July average high: 91°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 83 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 42 a year
Rain and melted snow: 57.7 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 93 feet

Weather stations: Jena (16 miles away) and Olla (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

Bossier City, LACity of 63,00092

New Orleans, LAMetro of 1 million187

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: Bossier City, New Orleans.

LaSalle Parish is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Cane River Creole National Historical Park44 miles
Natchez National Historical Park56 miles
Natchez Trace Parkway58 miles

Read about Urania's history on Wikipedia.

Know Urania?

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

Olla, LA1,300 people, 4 miles
Clarks, LA1,000 people, 14 miles
Jena, LA4,200 people, 15 miles
Winnfield, LA4,500 people, 21 miles
Ball, LA3,800 people, 31 miles
Jonesville, LA1,500 people, 32 miles

Smaller places

Tullos, LA310 people, 4 miles
Georgetown, LA276 people, 9 miles
Jordan Hill, LA (unincorporated)280 people, 13 miles
Good Pine, LA (unincorporated)791 people, 14 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.