Rayville, Louisiana


Rayville is a town in and the parish seat of Richland Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population, which is 69 percent African American, was 4,234 at the 2000 census, but it had declined by nearly 13 percent in 2010 to 3,695.
The City Hall, located next to the U.S. Post Office across from U.S. Highway 80, is named for former Rayville Mayor Joe Kalil.

Geography

Rayville is located at .
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.3 square miles, of which 2.2 square miles is land and 0.04 square mile is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,234 people, 1,504 households, and 1,004 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,880.1 people per square mile. There were 1,629 housing units at an average density of 723.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 31.44% White, 67.26% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.50% of the population.
There were 1,504 households out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.5% were married couples living together, 34.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.32.
In the town, the population was spread out with 32.3% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 76.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 66.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $14,309, and the median income for a family was $16,480. Males had a median income of $21,000 versus $16,107 for females. The per capita income for the town was $8,589. About 44.2% of families and 48.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 65.9% of those under age 18 and 28.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools in Richland Parish are operated by the Richland Parish School Board. Three campuses serve the town of Rayville - Rayville Elementary School, Rayville Junior High School, and Rayville High School. Rayville is also served by Riverfield Academy a non-denominational private school.

Notable people