Bunkie is a city in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,171 at the 2010 census.
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.
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 1934-43 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.
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.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.69 square miles (6.97 km2), of which 2.68 square miles (6.93 km2) is land and 0.015 square miles (0.04 km2), or 0.57%, is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,662 people, 1,698 households, and 1,198 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,763.4 people per square mile (681.8/km²). There were 1,866 housing units at an average density of 705.8 per square mile (272.9/km²). 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.
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