Ascension Parish continues to rank among Louisiana’s fastest-growing areas, with steady population gains driven by job growth and industrial expansion — though local officials say that trajectory may be tested in the years ahead.
That’s according to annual resident population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau covering 2020 through July 1, 2025. The data shows Ascension and Livingston parishes remain the primary engines of regional growth.
Ascension Parish’s population grew from 126,499 in 2020 to 135,105 as of July 1, 2025 — a 6.8% increase over five years. Annual growth has held relatively steady at around 1%, with a slight uptick to 1.38% in the most recent year.
Local economist Loren Scott ties that momentum directly to the parish’s industrial base.
“Any population movement tends to follow jobs,” Scott says. “The more jobs you’re creating, the better the income, the more you’re going to attract people. Ascension is one of the hottest places in the state right now for industrial growth.”
Ascension’s growth has been marked by consistent year-over-year gains rather than sharp spikes — a signal of stable expansion tied to long-term economic drivers. The parish’s proximity to major industrial corridors, combined with ongoing residential development, has made it a destination for both workforce migration and new housing demand.
But how long that trend continues is an open question. Ascension Parish Chief Administrative Officer Ricky Compton says most recent residential growth has come from residential developments approved before the current administration took office.
“After the rain and flooding events of 2021, our council put a pause on development to enact some changes to our ordinances, which were primarily geared towards improving post-development drainage,” Compton said. “We have not seen any significant residential development approvals since 2021 and it will be interesting to see if that upwards growth trend continues.”
Compton added that commercial development in the parish is still catching up from the explosive growth that began in 2005.
Elsewhere in the Capital Region, Livingston Parish led the area over the five-year period, growing 8.9% — from 142,287 residents in 2020 to 155,036 in 2025.
East Baton Rouge Parish, after four consecutive years of population decline, appears to be stabilizing. The parish fell from 456,796 residents in 2020 to a low of 451,709 in 2023 before rebounding to 456,180 by 2025.
Louisiana has followed a similar arc. The state posted year-over-year losses from 2020 through 2023 before returning to modest growth in 2024 and 2025.
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