Livingston Parish (French: Paroisse de Livingston) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Livingston Parish is known as one of the eight Florida Parishes, a region of Louisiana that was bought from Spanish Florida, and created the modern day state borders.
It is widely accepted that the name Livingston is an eponym honoring Edward Livingston, a prominent American and Louisianan, a jurist and statesman who assisted in the drafting of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1825.
Livingston Parish is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. At the 2010 census, the population was 128,026; the 2019 American Community Survey estimated its population was 138,928. The 2020 census tabulated an increase at 142,282.
Its parish seat is located in the town of Livingston. Livingston Parish is also part of Louisiana's 6th Congressional District.
History
Livingston Parish was created by the state legislature in 1832 from part of St. Helena Parish. The historical parish seats were Van Buren (1832–1835), Springfield (1835–1872), Port Vincent (1872–1881), and Centerville (1881–1941). Livingston became the seat of government in 1941.
During the 2016 Louisiana floods, Livingston Parish was one of the hardest hit areas. An official estimated that 75 percent of the homes in the parish were a total loss.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of , of which is land and (7.8%) is water.
Major highways
20px Interstate 12
20px Louisiana Highway 16
20px Louisiana Highway 22
20px Louisiana Highway 40
20px Louisiana Highway 42
20px Louisiana Highway 43
20px Louisiana Highway 63
20px U.S. Highway 190
20px Louisiana Highway 444
State park
Tickfaw State Park
Adjacent parishes
St. Helena Parish (north)
Tangipahoa Parish (east)
St. John the Baptist Parish (southeast)
Ascension Parish (southwest)
East Baton Rouge Parish (west)
Communities
Cities
Denham Springs
Walker
Towns
Livingston (parish seat)
Springfield
Villages
Albany
French Settlement
Killian
Port Vincent
Census-designated place
Watson
Unincorporated communities
Colyell
Corbin
Doyle
Frost
Georgeville
Head of Island
Holden
Maurepas
Magnolia
Satsuma
Springville (Centerville)
Whitehall
Historic communities
Van Buren
Demographics
2000 census
At the 2000 United States census, there were 91,814 people, 32,630 households, and 25,549 families residing in the parish. The population density was 142 people per square mile (55/km2). There were 36,212 housing units at an average density of 56 per square mile (22/km2). The racial makeup of the parish was 94.35% White, 4.22% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races; 1.11% of the population were Hispanic or Latin American of any race.
There were 32,630 households, out of which 41.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.10% were married couples living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.70% were non-families. 18.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the parish the population was spread out, with 29.50% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 8.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.50 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $38,887, and the median income for a family was $44,071. Males had a median income of $36,508 versus $22,325 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $16,282. As of August 2001, about 43,800 people were employed in the parish. The unemployment rate was 4.8%. About 9.10% of families and 11.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.70% of those under age 18 and 15.80% of those age 65 or over.
Hurricane Katrina had a dramatic effect on the population in Livingston Parish. Many displaced families of the affected parishes have moved into the area and as a result, the population of the parish has increased significantly. On June 6, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau published a report "Special Population Estimates for Impacted Counties in the Gulf Coast Area" which showed a population increase for Livingston Parish to 111,863 as of January 1, 2006.
2019 ACS
The 2019 American Community Survey estimated 138,928 people and 48,410 households lived in the parish, up from 128,026 at the 2010 United States census. Its racial and ethnic makeup was 90.3% non-Hispanic white, 6.0% Black and African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian alone, 0.8% some other race, 1.8% two or more races, and 3.7% Hispanic or Latin American of any race.
Among the population in 2019, 74.1% were aged 18 and older, 6.6% aged 5 and under, and 12.9% aged 65 and older. The median age was 36.6, and 2.2% of the population were foreign born.
An estimated 10,280 businesses were established in the parish, and 1,105 were minority-owned firms. Of the population, 59.3% were employed in the parish and 81.8% owned housing units. The median house value was $167,100, and the median gross rent from 2015 to 2019 was $934. The median household income was $63,389 and 15.2% of the parish lived at or below the poverty line.
2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 142,282 people, 47,014 households, and 32,840 families residing in the parish.
Economy
Livingston Parish is home of one of two installations for the gravitational wave observatory (LIGO) which is a facility dedicated to the detection of cosmic gravitational waves for scientific research. As of January 2015, Livingston Parish was Louisiana's fastest-growing parish.
Education
The Livingston Parish Public Schools operates all public schools in the parish. The parish in the service area of Baton Rouge Community College.
Law and government
Livingston Parish is a Council-President parish governed by a Home Rule Charter and enforced by a Parish Council and Parish President. The Parish President is the head of the executive branch of government, and the Parish Council comprises the legislative branch.
Livingston Parish is divided into nine council districts. The borders of each district are drawn to even out the population in each district.
At the end of 2014, the construction of a new Livingston Parish Courthouse was completed, with the ribbon-cutting scheduled for mid-February 2015. The new facility contains over 100,000 square feet of governmental office space; it replaces an antiquated complex dating back more than seventy years.
Together with the parishes of St. Helena and Tangipahoa, Livingston Parish forms Louisiana's 21st judicial district.
Politics
In its early history, Livingston Parish was “Solid South” Democratic, although it demonstrated Piney Woods voting behavior in 1928 when it was Herbert Hoover’s best parish in Louisiana. Like other parishes in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area, Livingston remained loyal to Harry S. Truman in 1948 and to Adlai Stevenson II in 1956 when Louisiana’s electoral votes went to Strom Thurmond and Dwight D. Eisenhower respectively. Barry Goldwater became the first Republican to win the parish in 1964, and in recent years, Livingston Parish has been one of the most Republican parishes in Louisiana, and one of the most Republican county-equivalents in the nation. It has gone Republican in every presidential election since 1984. In the 2004 election, George W. Bush received 33,976 votes, or 77% of the parish’s total, more than three times the 9,895 votes (22%) his opponent, John Kerry, received. The Republicans fared better still in the 2008 election, in which John McCain received 43,269 votes (85% of the total) to just 6,681 votes (13%) for Democrat Barack Obama.
