Ruston, Louisiana demographics

Ruston, LA demographics: median age 24.3; 40.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Ruston city, Louisiana · Incorporated city · GEOID 2266655. The survey estimates a population of 22,284 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Ruston is 24.3 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.1 years. There are 8,796 households (±536). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	24.3 ±1.1	38.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 22,284
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Under 18	3,185 ±418	14.3% ±1.9 pp	23.5%	22.0%
18–34	11,139 ±1,020	50.0% ±4.6 pp	22.4%	22.8%
35–64	5,256 ±566	23.6% ±2.5 pp	37.4%	38.0%
65 and older	2,704 ±375	12.1% ±1.7 pp	16.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 22,284
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Male	11,052 ±472	49.6% ±2.1 pp	48.9%	49.5%
Female	11,232 ±471	50.4% ±2.1 pp	51.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 22,284
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
White alone	10,622 ±592	47.7% ±2.7 pp	56.9%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	9,637 ±759	43.2% ±3.4 pp	30.7%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	372 ±303 · low precision	1.7% ±1.4 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.9%
Asian alone	443 ±188	2.0% ±0.8 pp	1.7%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	33 ±59 · low precision	0.1% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	153 ±145 · low precision	0.7% ±0.7 pp · low precision	2.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	1,024 ±387	4.6% ±1.7 pp	7.4%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 22,284
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	21,867 ±192	98.1% ±0.9 pp	92.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	417 ±190	1.9% ±0.9 pp	7.2%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,796
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Married-couple family	2,309 ±323	26.3% ±3.3 pp	41.8%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	166 ±122 · low precision	1.9% ±1.4 pp · low precision	5.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,539 ±331	17.5% ±3.6 pp	15.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	3,242 ±614	36.9% ±6.6 pp	31.6%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,540 ±387	17.5% ±4.3 pp	5.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,796
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Households with people under 18	1,771 ±281	20.1% ±2.9 pp	30.3%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	7,025 ±641	79.9% ±5.4 pp	69.7%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,796
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	3,242 ±614	36.9% ±6.6 pp	31.6%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,120 ±517	35.5% ±5.5 pp	32.7%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,565 ±321	17.8% ±3.5 pp	15.8%	15.3%
Four-person households	638 ±214	7.3% ±2.4 pp	11.6%	12.6%
Five-person households	169 ±96 · low precision	1.9% ±1.1 pp · low precision	5.5%	5.9%
Six-person households	7 ±29 · low precision	0.1% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	55 ±52 · low precision	0.6% ±0.6 pp · low precision	1.0%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 22,284
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Native	21,400 ±352	96.0% ±1.6 pp	95.1%	85.9%
Foreign born	884 ±355	4.0% ±1.6 pp	4.9%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 21,106
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
English only	19,999 ±440	94.8% ±1.9 pp	91.5%	77.7%
Spanish	266 ±193 · low precision	1.3% ±0.9 pp · low precision	4.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	57 ±67 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	60 ±77 · low precision	0.3% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	0 ±26 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	350 ±223 · low precision	1.7% ±1.1 pp · low precision	0.5%	2.0%
Korean	24 ±43 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	60 ±79 · low precision	0.3% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.2%	1.1%
Vietnamese	130 ±150 · low precision	0.6% ±0.7 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	0 ±26 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	14 ±23 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±26 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	146 ±185 · low precision	0.7% ±0.9 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 10,797
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	768 ±247	7.1% ±2.3 pp	12.7%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	3,030 ±457	28.1% ±4.0 pp	32.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	2,328 ±435	21.6% ±3.9 pp	20.4%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	336 ±134	3.1% ±1.2 pp	7.3%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	2,566 ±450	23.8% ±4.0 pp	17.0%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	1,769 ±327	16.4% ±2.9 pp	10.1%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 22,090
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Same house	18,527 ±723	83.9% ±3.2 pp	88.6%	87.7%
Moved within same county	1,920 ±635	8.7% ±2.9 pp	6.2%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,331 ±384	6.0% ±1.7 pp	3.1%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	248 ±115	1.1% ±0.5 pp	1.6%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	64 ±51 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

6.9% of Ruston residents (±2.0 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 7.8% in Louisiana and 8.4% nationally. 84.6% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Ruston	Louisiana	U.S.	Compared with Louisiana
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	6.9% ±2.0 pp	7.8%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	84.6% ±3.6 pp	86.6%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	2.9% ±0.9 pp	6.1%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Ruston . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Ruston housing and cost context or return to the city profile.