Evangeline Parish, Louisiana: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy
Home to Ville Platte, Mamou and Pine Prairie
Evangeline Parish is a power-producing county: the plants here serve load well beyond its borders. Evangeline Parish is home to Ville Platte, Mamou, Pine Prairie and Basile. Construction employs 232, up 19.6% since 2019. Unemployment was 4.0% in August 2026, against 5.7% in 2019. Its power plants have 923 MW of capacity, 100% of it natural gas. Employers here counted 8,023 jobs in 2025, up 6.1% from 2019.
Cities and towns in Evangeline Parish
Evangeline Parish is home to Ville Platte, Mamou, Pine Prairie and Basile.
Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Reddell.
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 Evangeline Parish
1st = the most. Ranks cover counties with a value on record.
| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Louisiana |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 32,301 | 31,980 | ▼ 1.0% | 32nd of 64 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 7,559 | 8,023 | ▲ 6.1% | 14th of 64 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $33,983 | $45,050 | ▲ 32.6% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 194 | 232 | ▲ 19.6% | 19th of 43 by growth |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 5.7% | 4.0% | ▼ 1.7pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | — | |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | — |
Cleco Power LLC is the largest utility serving Evangeline Parish, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 12.33¢/kWh in 2024, above the 11.88¢ median for Louisiana utilities. 31,980 people live here, down 1.0% since 2020.
Who powers Evangeline Parish
Utilities with service territory in Evangeline Parish
| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleco Power LLC | Investor Owned | Bundled | 251,927 | 12.33¢ | 32% |
| Southwest Louisiana E M C | Cooperative | Bundled | 108,368 | 11.55¢ | 19% |
| Beauregard Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 40,051 | 13.70¢ | 12% |
Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers.
Operating power plants 1
| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 923 MW | 100% |
| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coughlin Power Station | Cleco Power LLC | Natural gas | 923 MW | 1961 |
The Evangeline Parish labor market
| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 8,023 | $45,050 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 232 | $58,363 | 0.55 |
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 Evangeline Parish
No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Evangeline Parish. Louisiana has 3 local measures on record statewide.
Evangeline Parish and its neighbors
Of the 6 counties that border Evangeline Parish, Acadia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evangeline Parish | 31,980 | ▲ 6.1% | 923 MW | — | — | — |
| Acadia Parish | 57,032 | ▲ 3.5% | 1,818 MW | 150 MW | — | — |
| Allen Parish | 22,672 | ▼ 5.5% | 143 MW | — | — | — |
| Avoyelles Parish | 37,941 | ▼ 6.3% | — | — | — | — |
| Jefferson Davis Parish | 31,471 | ▼ 4.6% | — | — | — | — |
| Rapides Parish | 125,877 | ▲ 0.4% | 1,772 MW | 49 MW | — | — |
| St. Landry Parish | 80,765 | ▲ 0.6% | 135 MW | 4 MW | — | — |
More of Louisiana
Evangeline Parish, answered from the record
Who provides electricity in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana?
3 utilities have service territory in Evangeline Parish in the EIA-861 2024 report: Cleco Power LLC, Southwest Louisiana E M C, Beauregard Electric Coop, Inc. The largest, Cleco Power LLC, charged residential customers 12.33¢/kWh on average in 2024.
What power plants are in Evangeline Parish?
1 operating plant with 923 MW of capacity. The largest is Coughlin Power Station (923 MW, natural gas).
Are there data centers in Evangeline Parish?
The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Evangeline Parish.
Is Evangeline Parish adding jobs?
Employers counted 8,023 jobs in 2025 against 7,559 in 2019 (+6.1%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 194 to 232.
Does Evangeline Parish have a data center moratorium?
No county-level measure is on record for Evangeline Parish. Louisiana has 3 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.