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Vernon Parish Tops In Nation in Growth in Income


Rardy

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Vernon Parish, which includes Leesville and Fort Polk, saw per capita personal incomes grow at the fastest rate in the country between 2000 and 2004, rising 7.8%. Policom

Fort Polk received good news earlier in the year from the Base Realignment Commission at the Pentagon when they decided to strengthen the Army's presence at the base. This ensures the continued economic success of western Louisiana. This area is often overlooked by fellow Louisianans because it lacks a large central city, but the Combined Statistical Area of Leesville-DeRidder-Fort Polk is actually the 10th largest area in the state and home to one of the largest employers in the state.

Construction, like the rest of south and southwestern Louisiana, is booming with the construction of 2 new four-laned highways, several hotels, a couple of national retail big-box stores, and the hottest housing market in history.

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Thanks for posting this good news. I wasn't too happy when Ft.Polk had some major cuts back in the 90's. One day maybe Hwy. 171 ? will be a

continuous 4-lane hwy. from Lake Charles thru Leesville up to Shreveport. Any idea on population statistics for DeRidder/Leesville area? Could that area one day maybe qualify as a Micropolitan area?

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Richy, Hwy. 171 is currently in the process of being widened to 4 lanes from Shreveport south. It's been under construction for quite some time.

By the way, I'd be curious as to what the Per Capital Personal Income was before, and what it is now. To be ranked #1 in growth in that category, it must have jumped quite a bit.

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Thanks for posting this good news. I wasn't too happy when Ft.Polk had some major cuts back in the 90's. One day maybe Hwy. 171 ? will be a

continuous 4-lane hwy. from Lake Charles thru Leesville up to Shreveport. Any idea on population statistics for DeRidder/Leesville area? Could that area one day maybe qualify as a Micropolitan area?

DeRidder (Beauregard Parish) is now its own micropolitan, and Leesville/Fort Polk (Vernon Parish) is its own micropolitan (but it's named the Fort Polk South Micropolitan Area. I have no idea why the census bureau chose this name since Fort Polk South is not a town in any sense of the word). Anyway, the 2 micropolitan areas are called the Fort Polk South-DeRidder Combined Statistical Area and the population of the CSA is just under 90,000.

I'm waiting for Beauregard to become part of the Lake Charles MSA, and Vernon part of the Alexandria MSA. I think (???) each parish only needs 15% of workers to commute into the neighboring MSA for it to become part of the MSA. IMO, that could easily happen once 171 and 28 are four-laned highways. Are CSA's maintained once they're "absorbed" into an MSA?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the only part of 171 between Shreveport and Lake Charles left for construction to start is the 10-mile segment between Many and Florien. The 18-mile stretch of 171 between Leesville and DeRidder has been four-laned for decades, but is now the most congested road in the state outside of an MSA.

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Rardy, atcually the number is 25%. This is why Webster Parish has been removed from the Shreveport-Bossier MSA, because the number of commuters from Webster Parish dropped slightly under 25% a few years back. But those areas are probably parts of their respective cities' CSAs if I had to guess.

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Rardy, atcually the number is 25%. This is why Webster Parish has been removed from the Shreveport-Bossier MSA, because the number of commuters from Webster Parish dropped slightly under 25% a few years back. But those areas are probably parts of their respective cities' CSAs if I had to guess.

Ah...then it might take a little longer. Although with southern Beauregard being the closest high ground to Calcasieu, and the Union Tank Car plant on the Vernon side of Alexandria, it cooould happen...

Oh well...these parishes probably get more grant/state/federal $$$ when they're classified as rural, so maybe it wouldn't be the best thing.

Question...how do you calculate the population growth of the Shreveport-Bossier MSA if Webster was in it in 1990, but out in 200(2)? That shouldn't reflect as a 43,000-person decline in the MSA's population!

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Question...how do you calculate the population growth of the Shreveport-Bossier MSA if Webster was in it in 1990, but out in 200(2)? That shouldn't reflect as a 43,000-person decline in the MSA's population!

It's because we picked up DeSoto Parish. Back then it was Caddo-Bossier-Webster and now it's Caddo-Bossier-DeSoto. More than 25% of the population of DeSoto Parish now commutes to Shreveport, since the bulk of Shreveport's southern suburban growth has been spilling over the Caddo/DeSoto line.

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