(The Center Square) — A 2023 census report showed the median household income for residents in Shreveport at $48,465, while a salary report from that same year shows some city officials make nearly $200,000 or more annually.
From public records requests from Open the Books obtained by The Center Square, 54 city employees in Shreveport made over $100,000 a year, and Mayor Tom Arceneaux was not one of them.
Three of those are close to the $200,000 mark. The lowest salary reported for the city was around $7,540, with the highest reaching $199,000.
The top five salaries for city officials in 2023 consisted of Airport Director Larry Blackwell Jr., at $159,999, City Attorney Marcus Edwards at $160,007, Fire Chief Clarence Reese Jr. at $178,335, Police Chief Wayne Smith at $196,559, and Chief Administrative Officer Tom Dark at $198,999.
Arceneaux earned a reported $94,999 in 2023.
When it comes to specific jobs, the gap in pay between public safety workers and city officials is steep in the area. A police officer earns nearly $39,000 a year and some firefighters in the area make about $37,000.
Leadership of these departments earn from $178,000 to $196,000.
The estimated population of Shreveport in 2023 was 178,000, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Recent data on Louisiana employment from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that Shreveport alone has 169,600 jobs total, with the city adding 2,300 jobs since February of last year.
According to the data, 27,900 of the jobs in the Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area are government jobs or 16.7%.
With a median household income level of $48,000, census data shows the average cost per month a person pays in the city with a mortgage is around $1,408 in 2023. While the median mortgage per person sits on the lower end, $48,000 equals about $4,000 monthly, not including taxes. The highest salary in Shreveport’s government, paid to Dark, equates to roughly $16,500 a month before taxes.
Persons in poverty throughout the city are estimated at 23% of the population, with the per capita income level being around $33,000.
Residents of the city may have varying incomes but according to the city of Shreveport website, the city is bringing in high revenue annually. The Revenue Division is in charge of billing and collecting the majority of the city’s revenues, which are estimated at $85 million a year. This sum includes water and sewage charges, property taxes, EMS charges, and occupational license taxes.
