The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Pelican State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.
While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.
We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Louisiana have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.
A recent study we published found that Louisiana is the 49th smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 95.
But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Louisiana are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.
#1 dumbest in Louisiana
Located in
Allen Parish, Louisiana
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#2 dumbest in Louisiana
Located in
Evangeline Parish, Louisiana
Ville Platte is a city in, and the parish seat of, Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,430 at the 2010 census, down from 8,145 in 2000. The city’s name is of French origin, roughly translating to “flat city”, in reference to its relatively flat topography in contrast to the more hilly terrain north of the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#3 dumbest in Louisiana
Located in
Vermilion Parish, Louisiana
Abbeville is a city in and the parish seat of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States, 150 miles west of New Orleans and 60 miles southwest of Baton Rouge. The population was 12,257 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#4 dumbest in Louisiana
Located in
Madison Parish, Louisiana
Tallulah is a small city in and the parish seat of Madison Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The 2010 population was 7,335, a decrease of 1,854, or 20.2 percent, from the 9,189 tabulation at the 2000 census. The city is nearly 77 percent African American. Tallulah is the principal city of the Tallulah Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Madison Parish. The Madison Parish Sheriff’s office operates the Steve Hoyle Rehabilitation Center in Tallulah.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#5 dumbest in Louisiana
Located in
Morehouse Parish, Louisiana
Bastrop is the largest city and the parish seat of Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,365 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 1,623 from the 12,988 tabulation of 2000. The population of Bastrop is 73 percent African American. It is the principal city of and is included in the Bastrop, Louisiana Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Monroe-Bastrop, Louisiana Combined Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#6 dumbest in Louisiana
Located in
Acadia Parish, Louisiana
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#7 dumbest in Louisiana
Located in
St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
Opelousas is a small city in and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies at the junction of Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190. The population was 22,860 at the 2000 census. Although the 2006 population estimate was 23,222, a 2004 annexation should have put the city’s population above 25,000. In the 2010 census, however, the population shrank to 16,634. Opelousas is the principal city for the Opelousas-Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 92,178 in 2008. Opelousas is also the third largest city in the Lafayette-Acadiana Combined Statistical Area, which has a population of 537,947.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#8 dumbest in 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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#9 dumbest in Louisiana
Located in
Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana
Jennings is a city in and the parish seat of Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Lake Charles. The population was 10,383 at the 2010 census, a small decline from the 2000 tabulation. The city is 68 percent white.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#10 dumbest in Louisiana
Located in
St. Mary Parish, Louisiana
Patterson is a small city in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,112 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Louisiana’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Louisiana’s dumbest cities are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Pelican State
We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.
So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.
In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Louisiana:
- % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
- % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)
We got the data from the U.S. Census 2020-2024 American Community Survey.
Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Louisiana from dumbest to brightest.
For this ranking, we used every Louisiana city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the dumbest cities in Louisiana.
The full plate
Dumbest Cities In Louisiana For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | % Adult High School Dropout | % Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakdale | 6,546 | 25.0% | 7.0% |
| 2 | Ville Platte | 6,253 | 37.0% | 13.0% |
| 3 | Abbeville | 11,003 | 23.0% | 10.0% |
| 4 | Tallulah | 5,969 | 24.0% | 13.0% |
| 5 | Bastrop | 9,232 | 20.0% | 5.0% |
| 6 | Rayne | 7,105 | 20.0% | 8.0% |
| 7 | Opelousas | 15,495 | 21.0% | 10.0% |
| 8 | Franklin | 6,461 | 19.0% | 10.0% |
| 9 | Jennings | 9,553 | 22.0% | 16.0% |
| 10 | Patterson | 5,744 | 17.0% | 9.0% |
| 11 | Eunice | 9,239 | 20.0% | 14.0% |
| 12 | Bogalusa | 10,468 | 17.0% | 12.0% |
| 13 | St. Martinville | 5,297 | 22.0% | 17.0% |
| 14 | Westwego | 8,335 | 21.0% | 18.0% |
| 15 | Donaldsonville | 6,831 | 16.0% | 14.0% |
| 16 | Crowley | 11,422 | 21.0% | 20.0% |
| 17 | New Iberia | 27,571 | 18.0% | 17.0% |
| 18 | Gretna | 17,389 | 25.0% | 24.0% |
| 19 | St. Gabriel | 6,639 | 22.0% | 24.0% |
| 20 | Leesville | 5,495 | 15.0% | 19.0% |
| 21 | Carencro | 11,619 | 12.0% | 15.0% |
| 22 | Breaux Bridge | 7,501 | 16.0% | 20.0% |
| 23 | West Monroe | 12,729 | 17.0% | 21.0% |
| 24 | Plaquemine | 6,075 | 14.0% | 17.0% |
| 25 | Minden | 11,455 | 14.0% | 17.0% |
| 26 | Sulphur | 20,775 | 12.0% | 17.0% |
| 27 | Alexandria | 44,060 | 15.0% | 25.0% |
| 28 | Pineville | 14,160 | 15.0% | 26.0% |
| 29 | Baker | 12,253 | 11.0% | 21.0% |
| 30 | Walker | 6,390 | 9.0% | 16.0% |
| 31 | Houma | 32,392 | 11.0% | 24.0% |
| 32 | Hammond | 21,539 | 13.0% | 28.0% |
| 33 | Kenner | 64,904 | 14.0% | 29.0% |
| 34 | Ponchatoula | 7,808 | 11.0% | 24.0% |
| 35 | DeRidder | 9,763 | 10.0% | 21.0% |
| 36 | Scott | 8,609 | 10.0% | 23.0% |
| 37 | Gonzales | 13,108 | 12.0% | 27.0% |
| 38 | Thibodaux | 15,732 | 15.0% | 35.0% |
| 39 | Shreveport | 180,982 | 12.0% | 28.0% |
| 40 | Monroe | 47,004 | 13.0% | 33.0% |
| 41 | Lake Charles | 81,143 | 10.0% | 29.0% |
| 42 | Denham Springs | 9,323 | 6.0% | 24.0% |
| 43 | Slidell | 28,561 | 10.0% | 31.0% |
| 44 | Baton Rouge | 222,771 | 11.0% | 37.0% |
| 45 | Natchitoches | 17,577 | 10.0% | 31.0% |
| 46 | Grambling | 5,287 | 10.0% | 36.0% |
| 47 | Covington | 11,658 | 10.0% | 38.0% |
| 48 | Addis | 7,252 | 5.0% | 31.0% |
| 49 | Zachary | 19,952 | 5.0% | 32.0% |
| 50 | Broussard | 14,322 | 8.0% | 37.0% |
| 51 | Lafayette | 121,715 | 9.0% | 41.0% |
| 52 | New Orleans | 371,853 | 9.0% | 43.0% |
| 53 | Ruston | 22,284 | 7.0% | 40.0% |
| 54 | Central | 29,783 | 3.0% | 35.0% |
| 55 | Youngsville | 17,427 | 4.0% | 37.0% |
| 56 | Harahan | 8,904 | 6.0% | 43.0% |
| 57 | Mandeville | 12,946 | 5.0% | 49.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 57 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
If you’re measuring the locations in Louisiana where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.
The dumbest cities in Louisiana are Oakdale, Ville Platte, Abbeville, Tallulah, Bastrop, Rayne, Opelousas, Franklin, Jennings, and Patterson. Not sold on Louisiana? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
