Property Tax in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana
Homeowners in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana pay a median of $1,016 a year in real estate taxes, on a median home value of $183,000. Those are the Census Bureau's published medians for the county (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023) — the typical bill and the typical home value for owner-occupied households.
What the Ouachita Parish numbers mean
Read the two medians together: $1,016 is the middle tax bill among owner-occupied households in Ouachita Parish, and $183,000 is the middle home value. Neither figure describes a specific property — together they describe the typical homeowner's situation in the county.
The derived effective rate for Ouachita Parish is 0.56% (median tax ÷ median value). Treat it as an estimate for comparison only: it comes from survey medians of different households, not from the county's rate schedule.
Ouachita Parish by the numbers
| Measure | Ouachita Parish | Louisiana | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median real estate taxes paid | $1,016 | $1,146 | $2,969 |
| Median home value | $183,000 | $208,700 | $303,400 |
| Derived effective rate* | 0.56% | 0.55% | 0.98% |
| Median tax per month | $85 | $96 | $247 |
*Estimate derived from Census medians (tax ÷ value), not an official rate.
Ouachita Parish at a glance
- Median tax rank in Louisiana: #16 of 64 counties
- Median home value rank in Louisiana: #23 of 64
- Population rank in Louisiana: #8 of 64 (158,916 residents)
- Population density rank: #8 of 64 (260 people per square mile)
- Land area rank in Louisiana: #38 of 64 (610 sq mi, 1.4% of the combined county land area)
- Median tax as a monthly figure: $85; per $1,000 of home value: $0.56
How Ouachita Parish compares
The median tax bill in Ouachita Parish is about 11% lower than the state median ($1,146 for Louisiana) and about 66% lower than the US median ($2,969 nationally). By median taxes paid, the county ranks #16 out of 64 Louisiana counties with published Census data — 15 counties in the state have a higher median bill.
Comparisons cut both ways: a county can have a modest rate but high bills because homes are expensive, or a high rate but modest bills because homes are cheaper. Ouachita Parish's derived rate of 0.56% sits below the derived US figure of 0.98%.
Some extra context for Ouachita Parish: the median bill works out to about $85 a month, and the derived rate equals roughly $555 of tax per $100,000 of home value. The county is home to 158,916 people — the #8 most populous county in Louisiana, spread over 610 square miles, a density of about 260 people per square mile. Its median home value, $183,000, ranks #23 among the state's 64 counties with data.
Nationally, Ouachita Parish's median bill of $1,016 ranks #2341 of 3133 counties with published data — inside the top 75% of counties by tax paid. The county accounts for about 3.4% of Louisiana's population, its median home value is about 12% below the state median, and at the derived rate the median home would hand over roughly 5.55% of its value in tax across a decade. Within the state, the distance from Ouachita Parish to the most expensive county, Orleans Parish ($2,428), is $1,412 a year.
Counties nearest Ouachita Parish in the Louisiana ranking
| County | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. James Parish, LA | $1,043 | $197,800 | 0.53% |
| Rapides Parish, LA | $1,024 | $179,100 | 0.57% |
| St. Bernard Parish, LA | $976 | $192,100 | 0.51% |
| Lincoln Parish, LA | $975 | $195,500 | 0.50% |
Ouachita Parish and its population peers
Counties of a similar size can tax very differently. The table below shows the counties closest to Ouachita Parish in population across the United States, with their median bills and home values. Within the group of 9, Ouachita Parish ($1,016) ranks the lowest by median tax paid.
| County | Population | Median tax paid | Median home value | Derived rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sullivan County, TN | 159,693 | $1,205 | $190,800 | 0.63% |
| Columbia County, GA | 159,638 | $2,431 | $287,400 | 0.85% |
| Schenectady County, NY | 159,603 | $5,486 | $223,100 | 2.46% |
| Stearns County, MN | 159,358 | $2,617 | $256,500 | 1.02% |
| Madera County, CA | 158,790 | $2,575 | $367,700 | 0.70% |
| Citrus County, FL | 158,693 | $1,320 | $223,200 | 0.59% |
| Rankin County, MS | 158,218 | $1,384 | $223,400 | 0.62% |
| Parker County, TX | 158,079 | $4,978 | $343,600 | 1.45% |
The closest population match is Madera County, California (158,790 residents), where the median real estate tax paid is $2,575 on a median home value of $367,700 — $1,559 less than Ouachita Parish pays.
Ouachita Parish's nearest population neighbours within Louisiana are Caddo Parish (232,973 residents, median tax $1,081 on a median value of $175,900); Calcasieu Parish (208,668 residents, median tax $926 on a median value of $208,500); Livingston Parish (145,583 residents, median tax $1,079 on a median value of $218,900); Tangipahoa Parish (135,218 residents, median tax $887 on a median value of $204,600). Comparing them is a reminder that even inside one state's rules, the bill follows local home values and local district rates more than anything decided at the state level.
How the tax is worked out
The bill is built in stages. First the assessor puts a market value on the property. Exemptions — a homestead exemption above all — then reduce the taxable amount. Finally the combined local rate is applied. To see the scale: at the county's derived rate of 0.56%, each $100,000 of value corresponds to about $555 of tax a year, and a $400,000 home to roughly $2,220. Real bills use the official assessment and district rates, not this derived figure, so treat the example as a sense of scale only.
Illustrative bills in Ouachita Parish at the derived rate
The derived rate of 0.56% is only an estimate built from medians, but applying it to different home values gives a sense of scale for Ouachita Parish — and a quick way to compare with the state derived rate of 0.55% and the US figure of 0.98%:
| Home value | Illustrative tax / year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $833 | $69 |
| $250,000 | $1,388 | $116 |
| $350,000 | $1,943 | $162 |
| $500,000 | $2,775 | $231 |
| $750,000 | $4,163 | $347 |
Illustration only: real bills are computed from the assessed value, exemptions, and the combined rates of the property's actual taxing districts.
Checking your assessment in Ouachita Parish
Most successful appeals are won on facts, not arguments. Start with the property record card held by the Ouachita Parish assessor: wrong square footage, an extra room, or a missing homestead exemption are common and fixable. Next, line your assessed value up against recent sales of genuinely similar homes nearby. Many disputes end at an informal conversation with the assessor's office; if yours does not, file the formal appeal with the review board named on your notice before its deadline, evidence attached, and keep paying the bill in the meantime so penalties do not build up.
More Louisiana counties
Frequently asked questions
What is the median property tax in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana?
The median real estate tax paid in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana is $1,016 per year, on a median home value of $183,000 (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2023).
What is the effective property tax rate in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana?
The derived effective rate is 0.56% — the median bill ($1,016) expressed as a share of the median home value ($183,000). No authority sets a rate this way; it exists to make counties with different home prices comparable.
How does Ouachita Parish compare with the rest of Louisiana?
By median taxes paid, Ouachita Parish stands at #16 among the 64 Louisiana counties the Census publishes figures for. Its $1,016 median bill is about 11% lower than the state median ($1,146), and 15 counties in the state record a higher median.
How are property taxes calculated in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana?
The assessor estimates your property's market value; exemptions (such as a homestead exemption) reduce the taxable amount; and the result is multiplied by the combined rates of the local taxing districts — county, municipality, school district and any special districts. In Ouachita Parish, the median outcome of that process is a bill of $1,016 on a median home value of $183,000.
Can I appeal my property tax assessment in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana?
Yes. Request your property record card from the Ouachita Parish assessor's office and check it for errors, then compare your assessed value with recent sales of similar homes. If it still looks too high, file a formal appeal with the local review board named on your assessment notice before the deadline printed on the notice — windows are short, often 30 to 90 days.