Washington Parish, Louisiana

Washington Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Franklinton and As of 2000, the population was 43,926.

History

Washington Parish was formed in 1819 by splitting off from St. Tammany Parish. Franklinton became the parish seat on February 10, 1821.

Geography

The parish has a total area of 1,751 km² (676 mi²). 1,734 km² (670 mi²) of it is land and 17 km² (6 mi²) of it (0.95%) is water.

Adjacent parishes

Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 43,926 people, 16,467 households, and 11,642 families residing in the parish. The population density was 25/km² (66/mi²). There were 19,106 housing units at an average density of 11/km² (28/mi²). The racial makeup of the parish was 67.42% White, 31.53% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 16,467 households out of which 32.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.30% were married couples living together, 17.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the parish the population was spread out with 26.80% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $24,264, and the median income for a family was $29,480. Males had a median income of $27,964 versus $17,709 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $12,915. About 19.40% of families and 24.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.20% of those under age 18 and 20.40% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Education

Students outside of the city of Bogalusa attend Washington Parish School System. Students within the city of Bogalusa attend Bogalusa City Schools.

Louisiana parishes | Washington Parish, Louisiana