The 10 Louisiana Cities With The Largest Native American Population For 2026

The most Native American places in Louisiana are Houma and Franklin for 2026 based on Saturday Night Science.

Most Native American places in Louisiana research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to research the Louisiana cities with the highest percentage of Native American residents for 2026. The data comes from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 vintage, which breaks down race by origin.

The city with the highest percentage of Native Americans is Houma. 2.28% of people in Houma are Native Americans.

The city with the lowest percentage of Native Americans is Youngsville. 0.00% of people in Youngsville are Native American.

The city with the most Native Americans is Houma. 737 people in Houma are Native American.

The city with the fewest Native Americans is Youngsville. 0 people in Youngsville are Native American.

The United States has 1,698,432 Native Americans and is 0.51% Native American.

Which city in Louisiana had the largest Native American population? The place with the largest Native American population in Louisiana for 2026 is Houma. 2.28% of Houma identify as Native American.

1

No. 1 most Native American city in Louisiana

Houma, LA

32,392 peopleSnackAbility 6/10
6/10
Houma, LA
Source: Wikipedia User Infrogmation of New Orleans | GFDL 1.2
2.3% Native American · 737 Native American residents
Map of Houma within Louisiana Located in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana

Houma is the largest city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, and the largest principal city of the Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city’s powers of government have been absorbed by the parish, which is now run by the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government. The population was 33,727 at the 2010 census, an increase of 1,334 over the 2000 tabulation of 32,393.

2

No. 2 most Native American city in Louisiana

Franklin, LA

6,461 peopleSnackAbility 5/10
5/10
Franklin, LA
Source: Wikipedia User Piccor | GFDL
2.0% Native American · 132 Native American residents
Map of Franklin within Louisiana Located in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana

Franklin is a small city in and the parish seat of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,660 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area.

3

No. 3 most Native American city in Louisiana

Thibodaux, LA

15,732 peopleSnackAbility 3/10
3/10
Thibodaux, LA
Source: Wikipedia User ian munroe from Steinwenden, Germany | CC BY 2.0
1.7% Native American · 265 Native American residents
Map of Thibodaux within Louisiana Located in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana

Thibodaux is a city in and the parish seat of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 14,567 at the 2010 census. Thibodaux is a principal city of the Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area.

4

No. 4 most Native American city in Louisiana

Leesville, LA

5,495 peopleSnackAbility 2/10up 1
2/10
Leesville, LA
Source: Public domain
1.5% Native American · 85 Native American residents
Map of Leesville within Louisiana Located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana
5

No. 5 most Native American city in Louisiana

Ruston, LA

22,284 peopleSnackAbility 4/10down 1
4/10
Ruston, LA
Source: Wikipedia User Billy Hathorn | CC BY-SA 3.0
1.3% Native American · 298 Native American residents
Map of Ruston within Louisiana Located in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana

Ruston is a small city and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. it is the largest city in the Eastern Ark-La-Tex region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 21,859, reflecting an increase of 6.4 percent from the count of 20,546 counted in the 2000 Census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex region and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy is therefore based on its college population. Ruston hosts the annual Peach Festival.

6

No. 6 most Native American city in Louisiana

St. Gabriel, LA

6,639 peopleSnackAbility 6/10up 1
6/10
St. Gabriel, LA
Source: Wikipedia User D. McGrath from Lafayette, LA, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0
0.8% Native American · 51 Native American residents
Map of St. Gabriel within Louisiana Located in Iberville Parish, Louisiana

St. Gabriel is a city in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,677 at the 2010 census. The city of St. Gabriel includes the areas of Sunshine and Carville. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.

7

No. 7 most Native American city in Louisiana

Westwego, LA

8,335 peopleSnackAbility 4/10up 2
4/10
Westwego, LA
Source: Wikipedia User Infrogmation of New Orleans | GFDL 1.2
0.8% Native American · 63 Native American residents
Map of Westwego within Louisiana Located in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana

Westwego is a city in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and a suburb of New Orleans. The population was 8,534 at the 2010 census. It lies along the west bank of the Mississippi River.

8

No. 8 most Native American city in Louisiana

Pineville, LA

14,160 peopleSnackAbility 5/10up 4
5/10
Pineville, LA
Source: Public domain
0.6% Native American · 79 Native American residents
Map of Pineville within Louisiana Located in Rapides Parish, Louisiana
9

No. 9 most Native American city in Louisiana

Gretna, LA

17,389 peopleSnackAbility 4/10up 5
4/10
Gretna, LA
Source: Wikipedia User Infrogmation | GFDL
0.5% Native American · 79 Native American residents
Map of Gretna within Louisiana Located in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana

Gretna is the second-largest city and parish seat of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. Gretna is on the west bank of the Mississippi River, just east and across the river from uptown New Orleans. It is part of the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 17,736 at the 2010 census.

10

No. 10 most Native American city in Louisiana

Rayne, LA

7,105 peopleSnackAbility 5/10down 2
5/10
Rayne, LA
Source: Wikipedia User Chris Litherland | CC BY-SA 3.0
0.4% Native American · 29 Native American residents
Map of Rayne within Louisiana Located in Acadia Parish, Louisiana

The receipts

Compare the top ten

Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Louisiana’s statewide median.

City % Native American vs LA
1 Houma 0.022752531489256607
2 Franklin 0.02043027395140071
3 Thibodaux 0.01684464785151284
4 Leesville 0.015468607825295723
5 Ruston 0.013372823550529527
6 St. Gabriel 0.0076818798011748755
7 Westwego 0.007558488302339532
8 Pineville 0.00557909604519774
9 Gretna 0.004543101961009834
10 Rayne 0.004081632653061225
City Native American residents vs LA
1 Houma 737
2 Franklin 132
3 Thibodaux 265
4 Leesville 85
5 Ruston 298
6 St. Gabriel 51
7 Westwego 63
8 Pineville 79
9 Gretna 79
10 Rayne 29
City Population vs LA
1 Houma 32,392
2 Franklin 6,461
3 Thibodaux 15,732
4 Leesville 5,495
5 Ruston 22,284
6 St. Gabriel 6,639
7 Westwego 8,335
8 Pineville 14,160
9 Gretna 17,389
10 Rayne 7,105

On the map

Where Louisiana’s Native American population is concentrated

Saturday Night Science

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Louisiana With The Largest Native American Population For 2026

We still believe in the accuracy of data — especially from the Census. So that’s where we went to get the race breakdown across Louisiana.

We used Saturday Night Science to analyze the Census’s most recently available data, the 2020-2024 American Community Survey data.

Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:

  • Hispanic or Latino
  • White alone
  • Black or African American alone
  • American Indian and Alaska Native alone
  • Asian alone
  • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone
  • Some other race alone
  • Two or more races

Our particular column of interest here was the number of people identifying as American Indian and Alaska Native alone.

We limited our analysis to places with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 57 cities.

We then calculated the percentage of residents that are American Indian and Alaska Native. The percentages ranked from 2.28 to 0.00.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of the American Indian and Alaska Native population, with a higher score being more American Indian and Alaska Native than a lower score. Houma took the distinction of being the most American Indian and Alaska Native, while Youngsville was the least Native American city.

We updated this article for 2026. This article is our eleventh time ranking the cities in Louisiana with the largest Native American population.

The full plate

Most Native American Places In Louisiana

Click any column to sort. Search by city name.

RankCityPopulationNative American Population% Native American
1Houma32,3927372.3%
2Franklin6,4611322.0%
3Thibodaux15,7322651.7%
4Leesville5,495851.5%
5Ruston22,2842981.3%
6St. Gabriel6,639510.8%
7Westwego8,335630.8%
8Pineville14,160790.6%
9Gretna17,389790.5%
10Rayne7,105290.4%
11Morgan City11,064450.4%
12Natchitoches17,577630.4%
13Carencro11,619270.2%
14Opelousas15,495320.2%
15Alexandria44,060890.2%
16West Monroe12,729240.2%
17Jennings9,553180.2%
18Lake Charles81,1431510.2%
19Tallulah5,969110.2%
20Harahan8,904160.2%
21Ponchatoula7,808130.2%
22Kenner64,9041010.2%
23DeRidder9,763150.2%
24Oakdale6,546100.2%
25Covington11,658170.1%
26Patterson5,74480.1%
27Shreveport180,9822470.1%
28New Orleans371,8534860.1%
29Gonzales13,108160.1%
30Slidell28,561310.1%
31Eunice9,239100.1%
32New Iberia27,571260.1%
33Breaux Bridge7,50170.1%
34Lafayette121,7151050.1%
35Baton Rouge222,7711890.1%
36Abbeville11,00390.1%
37Monroe47,004380.1%
38Scott8,60960.1%
39Bossier City62,901380.1%
40Central29,783170.1%
41Zachary19,95280.0%
42Baker12,25340.0%
43Mandeville12,94640.0%
44Sulphur20,77560.0%
51Plaquemine6,07500.0%
51Minden11,45500.0%
51Hammond21,53900.0%
51Donaldsonville6,83100.0%
51Denham Springs9,32300.0%
51Crowley11,42200.0%
51St. Martinville5,29700.0%
51Broussard14,32200.0%
51Bogalusa10,46800.0%
51Ville Platte6,25300.0%
51Walker6,39000.0%
51Bastrop9,23200.0%
51Youngsville17,42700.0%

Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, table B03002. 57 Louisiana cities with more than 5,000 residents.

Summary

Summary: Native American Populations Across Louisiana

If you’re looking for a breakdown of Native American populations across Louisiana according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.

The most Native American cities in Louisiana are Houma, Franklin, Thibodaux, Leesville, Ruston, St. Gabriel, Westwego, Pineville, Gretna, and Rayne.

Keep reading

More rankings worth a look

Chris Kolmar
About the author

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.

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