Ruston is a medium-sized city located in the state of Louisiana. With a population of 22,295 people and eight associated neighborhoods, Ruston is the 19th largest community in Louisiana.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 12.36% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Because Ruston has a very large number of students who are 18 years or older and in college, it is thought of as a college town. This has a major influence on local Ruston lifestyle, entertainment, and culture in general. Life in Ruston is very much tied to the academic calendar: when students return from the summer break in the fall, one will notice them out and about, buying groceries, out with friends, and generally getting re-acquainted with each other. In Ruston people study hard and play hard, and there is ample opportunity to do both.

Ruston, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.

One of the benefits of Ruston is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 15.48 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.

Being a small city, Ruston does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

The education level of Ruston ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Ruston, 41.98% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.

The per capita income in Ruston in 2022 was $21,292, which is lower middle income relative to Louisiana, and low income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $85,168 for a family of four. However, Ruston contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Ruston also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 36.17% of its population below the federal poverty line.

Ruston is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Ruston home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ruston residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Ruston include English, Irish, German, French, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Ruston is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Other Asian languages.