St. Mary Parish, Louisiana: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy
Home to Morgan City, Franklin and Patterson
The build-out shows up in St. Mary Parish as work for the electrical trades. St. Mary Parish is home to Morgan City, Franklin, Patterson and Berwick. Electrical contractors employ 160, up 42.9% since 2019 against down 2.9% statewide, at an average $77,743 a year. 348 MW has retired here since 2019, including Teche (natural gas, 348 MW, 2024). Unemployment was 4.3% in August 2026, against 5.5% in 2019. Employers here counted 19,370 jobs in 2025, down 8.9% from 2019.
Cities and towns in St. Mary Parish
St. Mary Parish is home to Morgan City, Franklin, Patterson and Berwick.
Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Amelia, Bayou Vista, Centerville, Charenton, Glencoe, Siracusaville, Sorrel.
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 St. Mary Parish
1st = the most. Ranks cover counties with a value on record.
| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Louisiana |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 49,149 | 46,552 | ▼ 5.3% | 23rd of 64 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 21,270 | 19,370 | ▼ 8.9% | 58th of 64 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $49,432 | $63,289 | ▲ 28.0% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 870 | 830 | ▼ 4.6% | 32nd of 43 by growth |
| Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 112 | 160 | ▲ 42.9% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 5.5% | 4.3% | ▼ 1.2pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 82 MW | — | |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 348 MW | — |
Construction employs 830, down 4.6% since 2019. 82 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly other technologies. Its power plants have 203 MW of capacity, 57% of it natural gas. Cleco Power LLC is the largest utility serving St. Mary 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. 46,552 people live here, down 5.3% since 2020.
Who powers St. Mary Parish
Net change in operating capacity since 2019: −267 MW. Colors follow the fuel legend above.
Utilities with service territory in St. Mary 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% |
| South Louisiana Elec Coop Assn | Cooperative | Bundled | 16,997 | 13.48¢ | 38% |
| Morgan City - (LA) | — | — | — | — | — |
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 5
| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 116 MW | 57% |
| Other technologies | 86 MW | 43% |
| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEPA Unit No. 1 | Louisiana Energy & Power Authority | Natural gas | 74 MW | 2016 |
| St. Mary Clean Energy Center | Cleco Power LLC | Other technologies | 51 MW | 2019 |
| Teche | Cleco Power LLC | Natural gas | 42 MW | 2011 |
| Ivanhoe Generation Facility | Orion Engineered Carbons | Other technologies | 31 MW | 2023 |
| Neptune Gas Processing Plant | Enterprise Products Optg LP | Other technologies | 4 MW | 2004 |
Retired since 2019
| Plant | Technology | MW | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teche | Natural gas | 348 MW | 2024 |
The St. Mary Parish labor market
| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 19,370 | $63,289 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 830 | $72,791 | 0.81 |
| Electrical contractors | 160 | $77,743 | 1.15 |
| Data processing and hosting | 4 | $45,086 | 0.07 |
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 St. Mary Parish
No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in St. Mary Parish. Louisiana has 3 local measures on record statewide.
St. Mary Parish and its neighbors
Of the 4 counties that border St. Mary Parish, Terrebonne 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Mary Parish | 46,552 | ▼ 8.9% | 203 MW | — | — | — |
| Assumption Parish | 19,720 | ▲ 2.6% | — | — | — | — |
| Iberia Parish | 66,846 | ▼ 7.1% | 1 MW | — | — | — |
| St. Martin Parish | 51,106 | ▲ 3.5% | — | — | — | — |
| Terrebonne Parish | 104,163 | ▼ 4.4% | 79 MW | — | — | — |
More of Louisiana
St. Mary Parish, answered from the record
Who provides electricity in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana?
3 utilities have service territory in St. Mary Parish in the EIA-861 2024 report: Cleco Power LLC, South Louisiana Elec Coop Assn, Morgan City - (LA). The largest, Cleco Power LLC, charged residential customers 12.33¢/kWh on average in 2024.
What county is Morgan City, LA in?
Morgan City is in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. About 10,757 people live there (2025 Census estimate).
What power plants are in St. Mary Parish?
5 operating plants with 203 MW of capacity. The largest is LEPA Unit No. 1 (74 MW, natural gas).
Are there data centers in St. Mary Parish?
The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in St. Mary Parish.
Is St. Mary Parish adding jobs?
Employers counted 19,370 jobs in 2025 against 21,270 in 2019 (-8.9%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 870 to 830.
Does St. Mary Parish have a data center moratorium?
No county-level measure is on record for St. Mary Parish. Louisiana has 3 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.