Opelousas, LA, Louisiana: Old Confederacy metro. In 2024, voted R+19%. Democratic peak: D+87 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+19MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Old ConfederacyAkashic typology
- Population
- 81,6702024 5-year
- Median household income
- $44,4622024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 52.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 40.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+87 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+23 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Opelousas, LA, LAOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 14,833 | 21,812 | 37,043 | ||
| R | 17,372 | 23,171 | 41,154 | ||
| R | 17,209 | 21,971 | 39,977 | ||
| R | 19,668 | 21,475 | 41,647 | ||
| R | 20,268 | 21,650 | 42,493 | ||
| R | 18,166 | 18,315 | 36,760 | ||
| D | 18,067 | 15,449 | 34,151 | ||
| D | 20,636 | 12,273 | 35,453 | ||
| D | 20,383 | 11,882 | 36,815 | ||
| D | 19,091 | 15,790 | 35,457 | ||
| R | 17,950 | 19,055 | 37,223 | ||
| D | 17,125 | 14,940 | 32,678 | ||
| D | 15,613 | 9,956 | 26,243 | ||
| R | 7,421 | 12,510 | 21,945 | ||
| O | 9,075 | 3,508 | 25,242 | ||
| R | 10,920 | 11,807 | 22,727 | ||
| D | 14,625 | 3,083 | 20,262 | ||
| R | 4,435 | 5,141 | 9,970 | ||
| R | 4,761 | 5,303 | 10,064 | ||
| O | 1,179 | 829 | 7,747 | ||
| D | 4,423 | 784 | 5,207 | ||
| D | 6,358 | 561 | 6,919 | ||
| D | 5,639 | 441 | 6,080 | ||
| D | 3,766 | 297 | 4,063 | ||
| D | 3,394 | 718 | 4,112 | ||
| D | 1,354 | 357 | 1,711 | ||
| D | 1,017 | 942 | 1,959 | ||
| D | 139 | 117 | 377 | ||
| D | 938 | 101 | 1,215 | ||
| D | 1,395 | 238 | 1,649 | ||
| D | 887 | 60 | 955 | ||
| D | 1,297 | 229 | 1,526 | ||
| D | 1,786 | 242 | 2,052 | ||
| D | 1,136 | 919 | 2,055 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
French
11.7%
English
4.7%
American
4.3%
German
3.6%
Irish
3.4%
Italian
1.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 37.8 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$44,462
Opelousas, LA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Opelousas, LA$44,462
Louisiana$60,756
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
26.8%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1833.4%
Working age (18–64)23.9%
Seniors (65+)28.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.9%
speak English only
Other Indo-European5.4%
Spanish2.3%
Other languages0.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 31.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Opelousas anchors a majority-Black metro in the heart of the Acadiana region, where low voter turnout and shifting local coalitions have historically shaped outcomes more than statewide partisan trends.
The shift began with civil rights. 2004 marked the realignment in Opelousas, LA, by a zero points margin. The Republican margin reached its widest at twenty-three points in 1972. The 2024 margin was nineteen points.
The political shift has tracked, in Opelousas, LA, the political shift of the South more broadly. A 52% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $44,462, and a 27% poverty rate describe the demographic context.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Opelousas, LA, Louisiana — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/36660/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Opelousas, LA, Louisiana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Opelousas, LA, Louisiana voted Republican by 18.8 points (R+19), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 37,043 votes cast, 14,833 went Democratic and 21,812 went Republican.
What is Opelousas, LA, Louisiana's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Opelousas, LA, Louisiana as a "Old Confederacy" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 21 times, Republican 11 times, and other 2 times.
When did Opelousas, LA, Louisiana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Opelousas, LA, Louisiana voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Opelousas, LA, Louisiana?
Opelousas, LA, Louisiana has a population of 81,670 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Opelousas, LA, Louisiana?
Median household income in Opelousas, LA, Louisiana is $44,462 — below the national median of $80,734. The Louisiana state median is $60,756.
What is the political history of Opelousas, LA, Louisiana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Opelousas, LA, Louisiana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 21 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Old Confederacy" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.