Ruston is a small city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. it is the largest city in the East Central Ark-La-Tex region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 21,859, reflecting an increase of 6.4 percent from the count of 20,546 counted in the 2000 Census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex region and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy hence is based on its college population.