Bogalusa is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana. The population was 12,232 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Washington Parish and is also part of the larger New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area. The name of the city derives from the Choctaw words bogue lusa, which translates to dark water in English.