The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Louisiana For 2024


The fastest-growing cities in Louisiana are Youngsville and Addis for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Is being in an area of Louisiana that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?

Depends on who you ask.

Some want bigger, more exciting cities like New Orleans and Baton Rouge, while others want peace and quiet like in Marksville and Grambling, thank you very much.

But today, we’re going to put opinions aside and look at the cold, hard facts — since 2010, which cities in Louisiana have grown the fastest.

After getting knee-deep in the Census’s American Community Survey using Saturday Night Science, we emerged with this set of cities in the Pelican State that have people climbing over each other to get in.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Louisiana For 2024

  1. Youngsville
  2. Addis
  3. Broussard
  4. Carencro
  5. Zachary
  6. New Orleans
  7. Gonzales
  8. Covington
  9. Ponchatoula
  10. Lake Charles

Fastest Growing Cities In Louisiana Map

What’s the fastest growing city in Louisiana for 2024? Based on the most recent ACS data, Youngsville ranks as the fastest-growing city in Louisiana. If you happen to be a resident of Youngsville, you’re probably not surprised to find it on our list.

If you’re surprised — and you’re wondering why these places are a big deal — keep reading. We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 places in Louisiana grow like weeds.

For more Louisiana state reading:

The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Louisiana For 2024

1. Youngsville

Youngsville, LA

Source: Flickr User Cajun Byrd | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 15,990
Population 2010: 7,336
Percent Growth 118.0%
Absolute Growth: 8,654
More on Youngsville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

2. Addis

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 6,779
Population 2010: 3,451
Percent Growth 96.4%
Absolute Growth: 3,328
More on Addis: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

3. Broussard

Broussard, LA

Source: Wikipedia User Chris Litherland | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 13,322
Population 2010: 7,761
Percent Growth 71.7%
Absolute Growth: 5,561
More on Broussard: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

4. Carencro

Carencro, LA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 10,194
Population 2010: 7,355
Percent Growth 38.6%
Absolute Growth: 2,839
More on Carencro: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

5. Zachary

Zachary, LA

Source: Wikipedia User Jim Plylar | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 19,401
Population 2010: 14,284
Percent Growth 35.8%
Absolute Growth: 5,117
More on Zachary: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

6. New Orleans

New Orleans, LA

Source: Flickr User szeke | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 380,408
Population 2010: 295,285
Percent Growth 28.8%
Absolute Growth: 85,123
More on New Orleans: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

7. Gonzales

Gonzales, LA

Source: Wikipedia User Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 12,356
Population 2010: 9,596
Percent Growth 28.8%
Absolute Growth: 2,760
More on Gonzales: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

8. Covington

Covington, LA

Source: Wikipedia User Frankbp | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 11,444
Population 2010: 8,941
Percent Growth 28.0%
Absolute Growth: 2,503
More on Covington: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

9. Ponchatoula

Ponchatoula, LA

Source: Wikipedia User Flickr photographer terin. / Terin Barrios | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,805
Population 2010: 6,425
Percent Growth 21.5%
Absolute Growth: 1,380
More on Ponchatoula: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

10. Lake Charles

Lake Charles, LA

Source: Wikipedia User CTtcg | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 82,430
Population 2010: 71,224
Percent Growth 15.7%
Absolute Growth: 11,206
More on Lake Charles: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Methodology: How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In the Pelican State for 2024

To figure out which cities are growing the most, we used Saturday Night Science to look at the growth rates for cities since the beginning of the decade, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:

  • Current Population
  • Population in 2010
  • Growth rate from 2010 to Current (The latest available data which came out in Dec 2022)

We ranked all 60 Louisiana cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.

The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest-growing city in the Pelican State.

And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula:

[Current Population – Population 2010] / [Population 2010]

The data has been updated for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the fastest growing cities in Louisiana.

Here’s a graph of the cities in Louisiana with the most significant percent increase in population:
Fastest Growing Cities in Louisiana Graph For 2024

Click to enlarge

Summary: These Places Grew Up So Fast In Louisiana, You Know?

So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in Louisiana are led by Youngsville which has been growing at a blistering pace this decade relative to other cities and towns around the state.

The fastest-growing cities in Louisiana are Youngsville, Addis, Broussard, Carencro, Zachary, New Orleans, Gonzales, Covington, Ponchatoula, and Lake Charles.

It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same rate over the next couple of years. We’ll be here to let you know!

These places have been growing (or shrinking) the slowest (fastest):

  1. Tallulah
  2. Bastrop
  3. Ville Platte

For more Louisiana reading, check out:

Fastest Growing Places In Louisiana For 2024

Rank City Population Population 2010 Growth Absolute Growth
1 Youngsville 15,990 7,336 118.0% 8,654
2 Addis 6,779 3,451 96.4% 3,328
3 Broussard 13,322 7,761 71.7% 5,561
4 Carencro 10,194 7,355 38.6% 2,839
5 Zachary 19,401 14,284 35.8% 5,117
6 New Orleans 380,408 295,285 28.8% 85,123
7 Gonzales 12,356 9,596 28.8% 2,760
8 Covington 11,444 8,941 28.0% 2,503
9 Ponchatoula 7,805 6,425 21.5% 1,380
10 Lake Charles 82,430 71,224 15.7% 11,206
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.