ZIP Code 71101

Shreveport is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. It is the educational, commercial and cultural center of the Ark-La-Tex region, where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. The ShreveportBossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is the fourth largest in Louisiana, though 2020 census estimates placed its population at 397,590. The city was founded in 1836 by the Shreve Town Company, a corporation established to develop a town at the juncture of the newly navigable Red River and the Texas Trail. It grew throughout the 20th century and became a national center for the oil industry. Standard Oil of Louisiana and United Gas Corporation (now part of Pennzoil) were headquartered in the city until the 1960s and 1980s. After the loss of jobs in theOil industry, and other economic problems it struggled with a declining population, poverty, drugs and violent crime. Despite these efforts, the city witnessed the largest number of homicides in its recorded history in 2021, eclipsing the previous record set in 1993. It forms part of the I-20 Cyber Corridor linking Shreve Port, Bossier City, Ruston, Grambling, and Monroe to Dallas and Tyler, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia. It was a Confederate stronghold throughout the Civil War and succeeded Baton Rouge as the capital of Louisiana from 1863 to 1865. It fell under Union control after each of Baton Rouge and Opelousas.

History

Shreveport is the primary city name, but also Caspiana are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of Shreveport. Shreveport was established to create a town at the meeting point of the Brown Bricks and the Texas Trail. The Red River was made navigable by Captain Henry Miller Shreve, who led the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers efforts to clear the Red River. Shreveport soon became a center of steamboat commerce, carrying mostly cotton and agricultural crops from the plantations of Caddo Parish. The city was a Confederate stronghold throughout the Civil War and was the site of the headquarters of the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederate Army. In 1895, Justin Vincent Gras, an immigrant from France, opened the largest grocery and liquor store in the city. He had come to work for his uncle four years before his uncle and two religious sisters died while caring for yellow fever victims in theCity of Shreveports. The total death toll from August through November was approximately 1,200, with over 400 additional victims during a yellow fever epidemic in 1873-1874. In 1873, the city lost 7,000 citizens in an 80-day period to yellow fever, with the death toll eventually succumbing to about 1,000. The number of citizens who died during the yellow fever outbreak in 1859 was approximately 2,000, with more than half of them dying in the first few days of the epidemic. The population of the city was 2,200 free people and 1,300 slaves within the city limits in 1860, and it was the capital of Louisiana from 1863 to 1865.

Geography

Shreveport is the center of the Ark-La-Tex region where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. It is 188 miles from Dallas, 98 miles from Tyler, and 41 miles from Marshall, Texas. Shreveport has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). Rainfall is abundant, with the normal annual precipitation averaging over 51 inches (1,300 mm), with monthly averages ranging from less than 3 inches (76mm) in August to more than 5 inches (130 mm) in June. The city's proximity to the nearby cities makes it North Louisiana and the Ark.-La- Tex's transportation hub. The busiest thoroughfares and areas are the Youree Drive area (named for Peter Youree), the Shreveports Downtown Riverfront, and Highland neighborhood. In 2020, plans were unveiled for the I-49 Connector and further redevelopment of the city. In the Highland section, along Fairfield Avenue, more than a half dozen houses have been designated as historic and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These include residences once occupied by Lieutenant Governor Thomas Charles Barret, who served early in the 20th century; a Broadway director, Joshua Logan; a former governor, Ruffin Pleasant; a physician and developer, George W. Robinson; a Coca-Cola bottler, Zehntner Biedenharn; Ewald Max Hoyer, the first mayor of Bossier City beginning in 1907; and John B. Slattery, a major real estate owner.

Demographics

Shreveport's population was initially 1,728 at the 1850 U.S. census, and has experienced growth to a historic high of 206,989 at the 1980 census. According to the 2020 United States census, there were 187,593 people, 73,114 households, and 42,775 families residing in the city. In 2019, the racial and ethnic makeup of Shreveport was 56.9% Black and African American, 36.8% non-Hispanic white, 1.7% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and 2.6% Hispanic and Latino American of any race. In 2010, about 6.5% of the population was Hispanic or Latino American. The city and metropolitan area's dominant religion, being part of the Bible Belt, is Baptists and Methodists. The Catholic community is primarily served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dioceses of Louisiana. The largest Protestant group in the area is the Progressive National Baptist Convention, though some also claim affiliation to the mainline United Methodist Church, though many are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The median income for families grew to $54,023 with a mean income of $82,854; married-couple families $84,282 with amean of $112,363; and non-family households $26,628 with a Mean of $41,090. Approximately 24.9 per cent of the city's population lived at or below the poverty line, down from 2014 to 2018's census estimates of 25.4%.

Economy

Shreveport was once a major player in United States oil business, and at one time could boast Standard Oil of Louisiana as a locally based company. In the 1980s, the oil and gas industry suffered a large economic downturn. Shreveport suffered severely from this recession, and many residents left the area. The city hosts various riverboat gambling casinos, and, before Hurricane Katrina in 2005, was second only to New Orleans in Louisiana tourism. The Louisiana Boardwalk, a 550,000-square-foot (51,000 m2) shopping and entertainment complex, opened in Bossier City in May 2005. In addition to GM, other notable large companies that have had or still have manufacturing/assembly or production facilities or operations include: General Electric (electric transformer production), Honeywell UOP, Libbey-Owens-Ford, Beaird-Poulan (the originator of and, for decades, the only manufacturer of the single- operator chainsaw in the world), Calumet Specialty Products Partners (originally United Gas Corporation's Atlas Processing Unit and then Pennzoil), and Frye-Oil LLC (a subsidiary of The Manitow Company). In 2017, manufacturing jobs accounted about 5% of Shreve Port's workforce compared to 8% for the nationwide percentage of the workforce involved in the manufacturing and hotel and gambling industries. Outside of the city, AT&T, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Amazon have announced plans to have regional headquarters in the city.

Arts and culture

Mardi Gras celebrations in Shreveport date to the mid19th century when krewes and parades were organized along the lines of those of New Orleans. Attempts to revive it in the 1920s were unsuccessful, and the last Carnival celebrations for decades were held in 1927. The first krewe to revive parading was Gemini in 1989. Today, Mardigras is again an important part of the cultural life of the Shreveports-Bossier metropolitan area. The city is home to many theatres, museums, and performing arts groups, including: University of Louisiana-Shreveport, Louisiana State University, University of Arkansas at Shreveville, and University of Southern Louisiana. The University of Texas at New Orleans is also home to a number of theatres and museums, including the Louisiana Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of African American History and Ethnology, which opened in 1883. The Louisiana Museum for the Performing Arts is located in the former home of the Louisiana State Theater. The Museum of Art and Culture is located on the campus of Louisiana Tech University, which was founded in 1885. The museum is now home to the Louisiana Institute of the Arts, which is based in the University of Southwestern Louisiana, and has a collection of more than 100 works of art. The LSU Museum of the Performed Arts is also located in Shreveport, and was founded by the Louisiana School of the Art in 1887. The Shrevesport Museum of The Performing arts is located at the Louisiana Center for the Arts and Culture.

Sports

Shreveport was home to a few now defunct football teams. The city was once considered as location for an NBA G League-affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans. The Shreveport Mudbugs are a Tier II junior ice hockey team that has competed in the North American Hockey League since 2016. The Centenary Gentlemen and Ladies compete in NCAA Division III as a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The LSUShreveports Pilots compete in the NAIA as a members of the Red River Athletic Conference and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team occasionally hosts games at Independence Stadium. The City was also home to an unsuccessful professional Canadian Football League franchise that opened play in 1994 but folded after the 1995 season. The most recent independent minor league baseball team, the Sh Reveport-Bossier Captains, ceased operations in 2011 and moved to Laredo, Texas. Thecity was once considering an expansion team for the Women's Premier Soccer League, but the proposal was rejected by the city council. It is the home of the Louisiana State Fair Classic, an annual college football game during the State Fair of Louisiana, which has been held since 1976. The state fairgrounds (and later Independence Stadium, formerly State Fair Stadium) has traditionally hosted a college football match or two during the state fair. Since 1976, Independence Stadium has served as host of college football's annual Independence Bowl. Since 2021, the Mavericks returned as the Shreveports Mavericks within The Basketball League. The Mavericks played in the Continental Basketball Association from 2013 to 2015 before relocating to Owensboro.

Government

Shreveport is the parish seat of Caddo Parish. It is part of the First Judicial District, housing the parish courthouse. It also houses the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal, which consists of nine elected judges representing twenty parishes in Northwest Louisiana. A portion of east Shreveport extends into Bossier Parish due to the changing course of the Red River. The city has a mayor-council government. The elected municipal officials include the mayor, Adrian Perkins, and seven members of the city council. Cedric Glover, a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, was the first African American to hold the mayoral position. As the city's chief administrator and official representative, the mayor is responsible for seeing that all laws and ordinances are enforced. The mayor is also responsible for the general management of the the city and forseeing that all rules and regulations are followed. He is also the chief executive officer of the City Council, which is made up of the mayor and seven other elected members. The City of Shreveports was founded in 1836 and incorporated in 1839. It has a population of 1.2 million. It was the site of the U.S. Civil War and the Battle of the Bulge, which took place in 1858 and 1859. The Red River runs through the city, and the city is located in the center of the river's floodplain. The town is home to the Louisiana State Museum, which was established in 1838. The Louisiana State Theater, which opened in 1859, is the state's oldest surviving theater.

Crime

Shreveport has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime is 1 in 15. Shreveport was the first city in Louisiana to have Crips and Blood gangs. The city had a so-called "saggy pants" law since 2007. The ordinance was repealed by the city council in June 2019. The crime rate was also 149% higher than the national average. In 2017, Sh Reveport was placed 18th on 24/7 Wall St.'s list of "America's 25 Murder Capitals" The crime rates were 71% higher. than the Louisiana average. Within Louisiana, more than 93% of the communities had a lower crime rate than Shreveports. The rate was 149%higher than thenational average. The police department has been working to reduce crime in the city since the early 1990s. In the late 1980s, authorities started to track local Los Angeles-based gangs that distributed cocaine out of low-income neighborhoods. Most of the killings were drug- or gang-related homicides. In 1993, ShrevePort hit a peak in murders, with 86 killings. In 2013, the crime rate fell to 5,722.4 per 100,000 people, or 143.92% below the national rate of 2,346.0 per 100, 000 people and 62.39% lower than Louisiana's total crime rate of 3,523.8 per100,000.

Education

Caddo Public Schools is a school district based in Shreveport. Caddo Parrish Magnet High school, the nation's first magnet Arts and Academic High School is located in the heart of the Parrish and has produced a number of notable celebrities through the years. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, the only medical school in Northern Louisiana, opened in 1969. Remington College is a local college that offers both diploma and degree programs. Virginia College opened in 2012. Louisiana Baptist University and Theological Seminary was founded in 1973. Northwestern State University College of Nursing is the largest nursing school in northern Louisiana. Louisiana Tech University at Shreveports offers Executive MBA and main campus undergraduate and graduate degree programs at the university'sShreveport Center. The city is home to several private schools, including Loyola College Prep, a coeducational high school founded in 1902 as the all-male St. John's High School. It is also home to a local Remington college campus that is active in the Shreve Port community. It offers career training in areas such as business and office, health and medical, and medical billing. It opened in 2007 and is located at 6301 Westport Avenue. It was founded by the Methodist-affiliated Centenary College (founded at Jackson, Louisiana, in 1825; relocated to Shreve port in 1908) and opened as a two-year institution in 1967; it became a four year institution in 1976. It also has a campus at the University of Louisiana-Bossier City (SUSLA) that offers a two year associate's degree program.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana = 44.6. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 40. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 80. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Shreveport = 5.4 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 187,593 individuals with a median age of 35.3 age the population dropped by -0.54% in Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,734.64 residents per square mile of area (669.75/km²). There are average 2.43 people per household in the 79,813 households with an average household income of $34,484 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.30% of the available work force and has dropped -5.23% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 22.24%. The number of physicians in Shreveport per 100,000 population = 399.1.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Shreveport = 47.8 inches and the annual snowfall = 1.5 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 99. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 211. 94 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 37 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 22, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana which are owned by the occupant = 52.83%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 39 years with median home cost = $112,960 and home appreciation of -2.00%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $4.18 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,812 per student. There are 15.6 students for each teacher in the school, 321 students for each Librarian and 152 students for each Counselor. 3.82% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 15.00% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 7.58% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).