Natchitoches is a small town with a large college student population. Because of this, there is a real youthful, hip vibe to the place, and much of the life in the town is centered on the college. This has helped Natchitoches to buck the trend of other small towns that have suffered declining populations over the past 20 to 30 years. Spending by students, and faculty and staff jobs, are a big part of the local economy.
One of the benefits of Natchitoches is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 16.95 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.
In terms of college education, Natchitoches is substantially better educated than the typical community in the nation, which has 21.84% of the adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree: 30.26% of adults in Natchitoches have a college degree.
The per capita income in Natchitoches in 2022 was $23,599, which is lower middle income relative to Louisiana, and low income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $94,396 for a family of four. However, Natchitoches contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Natchitoches also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 35.90% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Natchitoches is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Natchitoches home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Natchitoches residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Natchitoches include English, German, French, Irish, and Italian.
The most common language spoken in Natchitoches is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.
