Ouachita Parish, Louisiana

Ouachita Parish is a (population 147,250 as of the 2000 census) located in the  of. The is. Ouachita Parish is included in the.

The parish bears the same name as the, which flows through southern and northeastern Louisiana. A entitled The Gift of the Ouachita by   (-), head of the Division of Theater and Drama at the  is a history of Monroe as the "gift of the Ouachita River."

Geography
The parish has a total area of 1,639 (633 ). 1,581 km² (611 sq mi) of it is land and 57 km² (22 sq mi) of it (3.50%) is water.

Major Highways

 * [[Image:I-20.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 80.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 165.svg|25px]]
 * [[Image:LA 2.PNG|20px]]
 * [[Image:LA 15.PNG|20px]]
 * [[Image:LA 34.PNG|20px]]

Adjacent parishes

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 147,250 people, 55,216 households, and 38,319 families residing in the parish. The was 93/km² (241/sq mi). There were 60,154 housing units at an average density of 38/km² (98/sq mi). The racial makeup of the parish was 64.48%, 33.63% or , 0.23% , 0.64% , 0.03% , 0.33% from , and 0.67% from two or more races. 1.19% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 55,216 households out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.70% were living together, 17.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.60% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the parish the population was spread out with 27.90% under the age of 18, 12.00% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 20.30% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 89.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.50 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $32,047, and the median income for a family was $40,206. Males had a median income of $31,616 versus $23,139 for females. The for the parish was $17,084. About 15.80% of families and 20.70% of the population were below the, including 29.70% of those under age 18 and 15.80% of those age 65 or over.

Primary and Secondary Schools
Ouachita School System has 33 primary schools: 21 elementary schools, one elementary/middle School, six junior High/middle schools, and five high schools. The high schools are Ouachita Parish High School, Richwood High School, Sterlington High School, West Monroe High School, and West Ouachita High School.