| Bunkie, Louisiana | |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Motto: | "The best place top side God's Green Earth"[1] |
| Image Map1: | Louisiana in United States (US48).svg |
| Map Caption1: | Location of Louisiana in the United States |
| Coordinates: | 30.9536°N -92.1856°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Louisiana |
| Subdivision Type2: | Parish |
| Subdivision Name2: | Avoyelles |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name1: | Police Chief Bobby Comer |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 7.87 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 3.04 |
| Area Land Km2: | 7.83 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 3.02 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.04 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.01 |
| Elevation Ft: | 66 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 3346 |
| Population Density Km2: | 427.48 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 1107.21 |
| Timezone1: | CST |
| Utc Offset1: | -6 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | -5 |
| Postal Code Type: | Zip Code |
| Postal Code: | 71322 |
| Area Code: | 318 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 22-10950 |
| Blank2 Name Sec2: | Wikimedia Commons |
Bunkie is a city in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,171 at the 2010 census.[3]
Bunkie was founded as a station terminus on the Texas and Pacific Railroad line. It was named for the daughter (whose nickname was "Bunkie") of the original landowner.[4]
The federal post office in town contains a mural, Cotton Pickers, painted in 1939 during the Great Depression by Caroline Speare Rohland. Federally commissioned murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. This work was part of the effort by the federal government to employ artists during the difficult Depression years.[5]
The area around Bunkie is devoted to agriculture; since the late 20th century, corn has been an important commodity crop. Since 1987, Bunkie has hosted the annual Louisiana Corn Festival during the second full weekend of June.[6]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.97sqkm, of which 6.93sqkm is land and 0.04sqkm, or 0.57%, is water.[3]
| Number | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,070 | 31.98% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 2,041 | 61.0% | |
| Native American | 9 | 0.27% | |
| Asian | 10 | 0.3% | |
| Other/Mixed | 149 | 4.45% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 67 | 2.0% |
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 4,662 people, 1,698 households, and 1,198 families residing in the city. The population density was 1763.4sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 1,866 housing units at an average density of 705.8sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the city was 48.54% White, 50.26% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.48% of the population.
There were 1,698 households, out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.4% were married couples living together, 26.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.22.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.3% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $14,745, and the median income for a family was $23,448. Males had a median income of $31,382 versus $19,479 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,302. About 34.4% of families and 37.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.9% of those under age 18 and 32.5% of those age 65 or over.