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Concordia Parish, Louisiana
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Concordia Parish (French: Paroisse de Concordia) borders the Mississippi River in eastern Louisiana. The parish seat is Vidalia. As of 2000, the population was 20,247. It is part of the Natchez, MS–LA Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Concordia means "harmony" in Latin.
Law and government
The current sheriff is Democrat Randy Maxwell, who has served since August 31, 1990.[1]
Although the parish trends Democratic, in 2004 it cast 5,427 votes (60 percent) for President George W. Bush and 3,446 ballots (38 percent) for his Democratic rival, Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts. Local officials are almost entirely Democratic in affiliation, and Republicans rarely contest such elections.
Geography
The parish has a total area of 749 square miles (1,939 km²), of which, 696 square miles (1,802 km²) of it is land and 53 square miles (137 km²) of it (7.05%) is water.
Major highways
Adjacent parishes
Demographics
|
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1900 |
13,559 |
|
—
|
| 1910 |
14,278 |
|
5.3% |
| 1920 |
12,466 |
|
−12.7% |
| 1930 |
12,778 |
|
2.5% |
| 1940 |
14,562 |
|
14% |
| 1950 |
14,398 |
|
−1.1% |
| 1960 |
20,467 |
|
42.2% |
| 1970 |
22,578 |
|
10.3% |
| 1980 |
22,981 |
|
1.8% |
| 1990 |
20,828 |
|
−9.4% |
| 2000 |
20,247 |
|
−2.8% |
| Est. 2006 |
19,460 |
[2] |
−3.9% |
| Concordia Parish Census Data[3] |
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 20,247 people, 7,521 households, and 5,430 families residing in the parish. The population density was 29 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 9,148 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 60.75% White, 37.72% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.55% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 1.48% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 7,521 households out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.00% were married couples living together, 19.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.80% were non-families. 25.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the parish the population was spread out with 27.80% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 25.60% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.90 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $22,742, and the median income for a family was $28,629. Males had a median income of $27,453 versus $18,678 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $11,966. About 24.30% of families and 29.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.00% of those under age 18 and 20.60% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities and towns
Map of Concordia Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels
Census-designated places
Education
Concordia Parish School Board operates public schools in the parish.
Notable natives and residents
- Jim Brown, State senator, Louisiana secretary of state, and insurance commissioner
- Noah W. Cross, Concordia Parish sheriff
- Troyce Guice, former candidate for the U.S. Senate
- Shelby M. Jackson, Education superintendent, 1948-1964
- Dan Richey, State Senator, 1980-1984
- Fred L. Schiele, Concordia Parish sheriff
- Howard K. Smith, ABC and CBS commentator
See also
References
Coordinates: 31°26′N 91°38′W / 31.44, -91.64
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