Louisiana dark-sky map — light pollution by town
Louisiana has 62 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Bayou Boeuf (Bortle 4) — to its brightest city cores. 2 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Sort the table by darkness to find the best stargazing near you, then open any town for its exact rating, what you can see, the nearest darker skies to drive to, and tonight's live Moon, cloud, and aurora conditions. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy for planning, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.
- Towns rated
- 62
- Darkest town
- Bayou Boeuf
- Genuinely dark towns
- 1
1 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).
All Louisiana towns by darkness
Darkest sky first. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by name. A satellite reading, not a survey-grade measurement — and the real dark skies are usually a short drive out of any town.
| Sky | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayou Boeuf | 4 | Rural / suburban transition | 1.8 |
| Mandeville | 5 | Suburban sky | 6.6 |
| Bogalusa | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 14 |
| Gardere | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 16 |
| Raceland | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 16 |
| Central | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 17 |
| Shenandoah | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 19 |
| DeRidder | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 20 |
| Minden | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 20 |
| Belle Chasse | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 21 |
| Bastrop | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 21 |
| Pineville | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 21 |
| Woodmere | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 22 |
| Youngsville | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 23 |
| Prairieville | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 24 |
| Jennings | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 24 |
| Natchitoches | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 24 |
| Estelle | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 25 |
| Moss Bluff | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 25 |
| Baker | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 26 |
| Waggaman | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 26 |
| Morgan City | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 28 |
| Crowley | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 28 |
| New Iberia | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 30 |
| Eunice | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 30 |
| Sulphur | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 30 |
| Zachary | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 30 |
| Luling | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 33 |
| Opelousas | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 33 |
| Laplace | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 33 |
| River Ridge | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 34 |
| Destrehan | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 34 |
| Slidell | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 34 |
| Denham Springs | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 35 |
| Abbeville | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 36 |
| Broussard | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 38 |
| Ruston | 8 | City sky | 40 |
| Hammond | 8 | City sky | 42 |
| Gonzales | 8 | City sky | 45 |
| Lake Charles | 8 | City sky | 45 |
| Alexandria | 8 | City sky | 47 |
| Timberlane | 8 | City sky | 47 |
| Thibodaux | 8 | City sky | 48 |
| Terrytown | 8 | City sky | 56 |
| Bayou Cane | 8 | City sky | 56 |
| Monroe | 8 | City sky | 57 |
| West Monroe | 8 | City sky | 58 |
| Kenner | 8 | City sky | 60 |
| Claiborne | 8 | City sky | 60 |
| Shreveport | 8 | City sky | 65 |
| Houma | 8 | City sky | 68 |
| Jefferson | 8 | City sky | 69 |
| Harvey | 8 | City sky | 70 |
| Bossier City | 8 | City sky | 71 |
| Chalmette | 8 | City sky | 74 |
| Marrero | 8 | City sky | 76 |
| Lafayette | 8 | City sky | 78 |
| Metairie | 8 | City sky | 79 |
| Gretna | 8 | City sky | 83 |
| Baton Rouge | 8 | City sky | 95 |
| New Orleans | 9 | Inner-city sky | 268 |
| Grand Bayou Mobile Home Park | 4 | Rural / suburban transition | 1.7 |
Frequently asked questions
- Where are the darkest skies in Louisiana?
- The darkest town tracked here is Bayou Boeuf. Sort the table on this page by darkness to see the full ranking, from the most rural, star-filled skies down to the brightest city cores.
- How many dark-sky towns does Louisiana have?
- Of 62 towns rated here, 2 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
- How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
- From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.
Explore
Learn to read the Bortle scale, check the meteor shower calendar, or search all towns from the home page.