[2] The city of Shreveport is the economic and cultural center for the tri-state region of the Ark-La-Tex containing Caddo Parish.

Planters developed these along the waterways, with clearing and later cultivation and processing by thousands of enslaved African-American laborers.

[3] The victims included Jennie Steers, a domestic servant hanged by a white lynch mob in July 1903, for allegedly poisoning her employer's daughter.

In the early twentieth century, the oil industry developed here, with a concentration of related businesses in Shreveport.

[6] At the publication of the 2020 United States census, there were 237,848 people, 92,589 households, and 56,525 families residing in the parish.

Reflecting nationwide trends of greater diversification since the 2020 U.S. census,[18][19] the Asian American community saw increases among its population as well.

[22] While maintaining these companies in the parish, however, Caddo includes some of the poorest areas in Louisiana by ZIP code.

[25] Despite the poverty within the parish, however, the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area and entire Northwest Louisiana region gained three projects valued at over $750 million in the early 2020s to offset its population and economic decline, and increase recognition.

The current elected judges are: Ramon Lafitte, Craig O. Marcotte, Michael A. Pitman, Karelia R. Stewart, Robert P. Waddell, Erin Leigh W. Garrett, Katherine C. Dorroh, John Mosely, Jr., Brady O'Callaghan, Ramona Emanuel, Charles G. Tutt, and Roy Brun.

Notably the city of Shreveport is the base for Democratic strength, while surrounding white-majority suburban areas are aligned with the Republican Party.

[35] The Caddo Correctional Center is a full-service parish jail rated at a capacity of 1,500 beds.

Constructed in 1994, this facility was designed to successfully manage a large number of inmates with a minimum of personnel.

The Caddo Correctional Center is the largest jail in the Ark-La-Tex and the only "direct supervision" facility in the state.