# Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Marksville, Bunkie and Cottonport Avoyelles Parish is not a build-out site today. It feels the boom through the grid it shares, the utilities that serve it and the work nearby. Avoyelles Parish is home to Marksville, Bunkie, Cottonport and Simmesport. Electrical contractors employ 38, up 46.2% since 2019 against down 2.9% statewide, at an average $38,835 a year. Next door, Pointe Coupee Parish has 2,341 MW of planned generation. Construction employs 634, down 11.2% since 2019. Unemployment was 4.1% in August 2026, against 5.5% in 2019. -6.3% total jobs since 2019, now 9,785 11.05¢ per kWh for Entergy Louisiana LLC residential customers, 2024 37,941 residents, 2025 ## Cities and towns in Avoyelles Parish Avoyelles Parish is home to Marksville, Bunkie, Cottonport and Simmesport. Marksville4,744 residents Bunkie3,138 residents Cottonport1,916 residents Simmesport1,400 residents Mansura1,260 residents Moreauville928 residents Hessmer740 residents Evergreen208 residents Plaucheville208 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Bordelonville, Center Point, Fifth Ward. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Avoyelles Parish | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Louisiana | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 39,645 | 37,941 | ▼ 4.3% | 28th of 64 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 10,440 | 9,785 | ▼ 6.3% | 54th of 64 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $32,842 | $42,879 | ▲ 30.6% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 714 | 634 | ▼ 11.2% | 36th of 43 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 26 | 38 | ▲ 46.2% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 5.5% | 4.1% | ▼ 1.4pts | — | Employers here counted 9,785 jobs in 2025, down 6.3% from 2019. Entergy Louisiana LLC is the largest utility serving Avoyelles Parish, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 11.05¢/kWh in 2024, below the 11.88¢ median for Louisiana utilities. 37,941 people live here, down 4.3% since 2020. ## Who powers Avoyelles Parish ### Utilities with service territory in Avoyelles Parish | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Entergy Louisiana LLC | Investor Owned | Bundled | 957,522 | 11.05¢ | 20% | | Cleco Power LLC | Investor Owned | Bundled | 251,927 | 12.33¢ | 32% | | Southwest Louisiana E M C | Cooperative | Bundled | 108,368 | 11.55¢ | 19% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. No operating power plant is located in Avoyelles Parish in the EIA-860M inventory. Its power comes over the grid from plants elsewhere. ## The Avoyelles Parish labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 9,785 | $42,879 | 1.00 | | Construction | 634 | $55,195 | 1.22 | | Electrical contractors | 38 | $38,835 | 0.54 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Avoyelles Parish No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Avoyelles Parish. Louisiana has 3 local measures on record statewide. ## Avoyelles Parish and its neighbors Of the 8 counties that border Avoyelles Parish, Pointe Coupee Parish carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Avoyelles Parish | 37,941 | ▼ 6.3% | — | — | — | — | | Catahoula Parish](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/catahoula-parish) | 8,223 | ▲ 13.6% | — | — | — | — | | Concordia Parish](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/concordia-parish) | 17,836 | ▼ 4.2% | 192 MW | — | — | — | | Evangeline Parish](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/evangeline-parish) | 31,980 | ▲ 6.1% | 923 MW | — | — | — | | LaSalle Parish](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/lasalle-parish) | 15,154 | ▼ 1.1% | — | — | — | — | | Pointe Coupee Parish](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/pointe-coupee-parish) | 19,520 | ▼ 1.0% | 2,855 MW | 2,341 MW | — | — | | Rapides Parish](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/rapides-parish) | 125,877 | ▲ 0.4% | 1,772 MW | 49 MW | — | — | | St. Landry Parish](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/st-landry-parish) | 80,765 | ▲ 0.6% | 135 MW | 4 MW | — | — | | West Feliciana Parish](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/west-feliciana-parish) | 15,134 | ▼ 9.4% | 1,048 MW | — | — | — | ## More of Louisiana [All Louisiana countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana)[Rapides Parish125,877 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/rapides-parish)[St. Landry Parish80,765 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/st-landry-parish)[Evangeline Parish31,980 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/evangeline-parish)[Pointe Coupee Parish19,520 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/pointe-coupee-parish)[Concordia Parish17,836 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/concordia-parish) ## Avoyelles Parish, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana? 3 utilities have service territory in Avoyelles Parish in the EIA-861 2024 report: Entergy Louisiana LLC, Cleco Power LLC, Southwest Louisiana E M C. The largest, Entergy Louisiana LLC, charged residential customers 11.05¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### Are there data centers in Avoyelles Parish? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Avoyelles Parish. The nearest activity on record is next door in Pointe Coupee Parish. ### Is Avoyelles Parish adding jobs? Employers counted 9,785 jobs in 2025 against 10,440 in 2019 (-6.3%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 714 to 634. ### Does Avoyelles Parish have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Avoyelles Parish. Louisiana has 3 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/louisiana/avoyelles-parish Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).