These Are The 10 Worst Places In Louisiana To Get A Job

Discover the 10 Least Favorable Cities for Job Seekers in Louisiana in 2026

At Zippia, we are dedicated to analyzing job opportunities across the United States to help you navigate your career path. In this article, we focus on the ten cities in Louisiana that currently present the most challenges for job seekers.

After previously exploring the best places for employment in Louisiana, we now turn our attention to the cities that fall short. These locations face significant hurdles in creating job opportunities and fostering career growth.

Based on our analysis of the latest data from Louisiana’s 100 largest cities, the ten least favorable cities for finding a job in the Pelican State in 2026 are:

Read on to learn how we determined these rankings.

For additional insights into job opportunities in Louisiana, explore:

How We Determined the Least Favorable Job Markets in Louisiana

To identify the cities with the most significant job-search challenges, we focused our analysis on the largest municipalities in Louisiana, each with a population exceeding 5,000 residents.

This criteria allowed us to evaluate a total of 100 cities.

We ranked each city based on several factors, scoring them from one to 100, where a rank of one indicates the most unfavorable conditions in each category.

The overall average rank across all criteria was calculated, with the city achieving the lowest score earning the title of “Worst City in Louisiana to Find a Job.”

The criteria we analyzed included:

1. Bogalusa

Population: 12,254
Recent Job Growth: 0.11%
Future Job Growth: 34.20%

2. Bastrop

Population: 11,348
Recent Job Growth: 0.59%
Future Job Growth: 33.10%

3. Minden

Population: 13,062
Recent Job Growth: 0.24%
Future Job Growth: 35.50%

4. Tallulah

Population: 7,378
Recent Job Growth: 1.78%
Future Job Growth: 35.40%

5. Oakdale

Population: 7,785
Recent Job Growth: 0.75%
Future Job Growth: 35.90%

6. Alexandria

Population: 47,941
Recent Job Growth: 0.15%
Future Job Growth: 35.10%

7. Monroe

Population: 49,027
Recent Job Growth: 1.10%
Future Job Growth: 36.60%

8. Shreveport

Population: 200,099
Recent Job Growth: 0.24%
Future Job Growth: 35.30%

9. Leesville

Population: 6,540
Recent Job Growth: -1.93%
Future Job Growth: 31.00%

10. Hammond

Population: 19,986
Recent Job Growth: 0.52%
Future Job Growth: 35.90%

Conclusion

Our analysis highlights that Bogalusa ranks as the least favorable city in Louisiana for job seekers in 2026.

Despite ongoing economic improvements statewide, these cities still struggle to create adequate job opportunities. It is hoped that through focused efforts and community engagement, they can enhance their employment landscapes and catch up to their peers.

Detailed List of the Least Favorable Cities for Job Seekers in Louisiana

City	Rank	Population	Recent Job Growth	Future Job Growth
bogalusa	1	12,254	0.11%	34.20%
bastrop	2	11,348	0.59%	33.10%
minden	3	13,062	0.24%	35.50%
tallulah	4	7,378	1.78%	35.40%
oakdale	5	7,785	0.75%	35.90%
alexandria	6	47,941	0.15%	35.10%
monroe	7	49,027	1.10%	36.60%
shreveport	8	200,099	0.24%	35.30%
leesville	9	6,540	-1.93%	31.00%
hammond	10	19,986	0.52%	35.90%

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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