In 1957, Cameron was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Audrey. A storm surge of and winds of caused the deaths of more than 300 residents of the town. Nearly fifty years later, in late September 2005, Hurricane Rita hit Cameron. A storm surge and winds of destroyed much of the town. Everyone had evacuated beforehand. On September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike leveled Cameron with a storm surge just as the town was recovering from Rita in 2005. Ike destroyed more than 90 percent of the homes in the parish seat and caused catastrophic flooding in every part of the parish. A 2010 report on the damage sustained from the effects of Rita and Ike stated that few people returned to the town to rebuild after the hurricanes, due to stricter building codes and high insurance costs that increased the cost of living dramatically. None of the stores have been rebuilt; only a gas station, bank, post office, and a restaurant remain. Most of the residents still live in mobile homes. The First Baptist Church in the community was rebuilt in 2010.
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,965 people, 695 households, and 510 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 70.5 people per square mile. There were 800 housing units at an average density of 28.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 82.49% White, 11.86% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.36% from other races, and 1.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.55% of the population. There were 695 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.17. In the CDP, the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.2 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $30,370, and the median income for a family was $33,661. Males had a median income of $24,762 versus $26,406 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $13,499. About 17.0% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.
The Cameron Parish School Board serves the town. South Cameron High School, a consolidated primary and secondary school, serves the community. Prior to Hurricane Rita's impact in September 2005, South Cameron High School served area high schoolers while Cameron Elementary School, within Cameron, served pre-kindergarten through 7th grade. In September 2005, Hurricane Rita swept through Cameron Parish, damaging South Cameron Elementary, Cameron Elementary, and South Cameron High. The town's students shared Grand Lake High School's campus with Grand Lake for nearly a year. In the fall of 2006, the three schools consolidated with all students going to the South Cameron High School campus. Hurricane Ike caused varying degrees of damage to every school and library in Cameron Parish. Most were flooded by storm surge and sustained wind damage, and as a result, all schools were closed and a recovery process began. The Cameron Parish Public Library operates the main Cameron Parish Library at 469 Marshall Street in Cameron.
