The 10 Best Counties To Live In Louisiana For 2021


Using science and data, we can tell you which counties in Louisiana have the most for people looking to make the move to Louisiana.

Chris Kolmar, About HomeSnacks
December 30, 2020
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Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment: is Louisiana a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best places to live in Louisiana.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Pelican State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been helping people find the best places to live in America for years.

So, the question becomes, if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Louisiana, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 64 counties in the state.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Pelican State for 2021.

St. Charles Parish is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Louisiana. And you might want to avoid Tensas Parish if you can — at least according to the data.

So if you’re thinking of making the move Louisiana, we’ve got you covered. Keep on reading for a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Louisiana and the cheapest places to live in Louisiana.

The Best Counties To Live In Louisiana For 2021

1. St. Charles Parish

Biggest Place: Luling

Population: 52,773
Median Income: $69,019 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $201,700.0 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (19th best)
More on St. Charles Parish: Data

2. St. Tammany Parish

Abita Springs, LA

Source: Wikipedia User Infrogmation of New Orlea | GFDL

Biggest Place: Slidell

Population: 255,155
Median Income: $68,905 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $218,500.0 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (18th best)
More on St. Tammany Parish: Photos | Data

3. West Baton Rouge Parish

Brusly, LA

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Addis

Population: 26,101
Median Income: $65,385 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $200,000.0 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.5% (4th best)
More on West Baton Rouge Parish: Photos | Data

4. Plaquemines Parish

Biggest Place: Belle Chasse

Population: 23,338
Median Income: $57,204 (8th best)
Median Home Price: $190,600.0 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.9% (best)
More on Plaquemines Parish: Data

5. Ascension Parish

Donaldsonville, LA

Source: Wikipedia User Z28scrambler | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Prairieville

Population: 123,114
Median Income: $80,527 (best)
Median Home Price: $207,400.0 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.7% (23rd best)
More on Ascension Parish: Photos | Data

6. Livingston Parish

Denham Springs, LA

Source: Wikipedia User Gloverepp | GFDL

Biggest Place: Denham Springs

Population: 138,928
Median Income: $63,389 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $167,100.0 (12th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.3% (2nd best)
More on Livingston Parish: Photos | Data

7. Lafayette Parish

Broussard, LA

Source: Wikipedia User Chris Litherland | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Lafayette

Population: 241,973
Median Income: $56,999 (9th best)
Median Home Price: $185,300.0 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.0% (13th best)
More on Lafayette Parish: Photos | Data

8. Bossier Parish

Bossier City, LA

Source: Wikipedia User Billy Hathorn at en.wikip | GFDL

Biggest Place: Shreveport

Population: 126,499
Median Income: $54,268 (12th best)
Median Home Price: $172,400.0 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.9% (11th best)
More on Bossier Parish: Photos | Data

9. West Feliciana Parish

St. Francisville, LA

Source: Wikipedia User Ken Lund | CC BY-SA 2.0

Biggest Place: St. Francisville

Population: 15,428
Median Income: $59,637 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $229,500.0 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 8.2% (48th best)
More on West Feliciana Parish: Photos | Data

10. St. James Parish

Biggest Place: South Vacherie

Population: 21,308
Median Income: $51,603 (18th best)
Median Home Price: $158,500.0 (14th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.1% (26th best)
More on St. James Parish: Data

How do you determine which Louisiana county is the best?

To give you the best county in Louisiana, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we need to make some assumptions about what’s a “best county” and what isn’t. And, for reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, don’t take this analysis to court.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best sources of data on the internet; the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent time period.

We paid particular attention to:

  • Violent Crime Rates
  • Property Crime Rates
  • Median Home Values
  • Median Income
  • Unemployment Rates
  • Adult Education Levels
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Poverty Rates
Best Places To Buy A House In Louisiana

We then ranked each county in Louisiana across each of the criteria from one to 64, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Louisiana”.

The result is some of the safest, quiet, and best counties to raise a family in the Pelican State.

Read on to see why St. Charles Parish is the best county, while Tensas Parish is probably in contention for being the worst county in Louisiana.

There You Have It – The Best Counties In Louisiana To Call Home For 2018

It turns out living in Louisiana can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

But now you the know the really good parts and the parts to avoid and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day. And for that, you are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Louisiana according to the data:

  1. Tensas Parish
  2. Franklin Parish
  3. Caldwell Parish

For more Louisiana reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Louisiana

County Rank Population Median Income Median Home Price
St. Charles Parish 1 52,773 $69,019 $201,700.0
St. Tammany Parish 2 255,155 $68,905 $218,500.0
West Baton Rouge Parish 3 26,101 $65,385 $200,000.0
Plaquemines Parish 4 23,338 $57,204 $190,600.0
Ascension Parish 5 123,114 $80,527 $207,400.0
Livingston Parish 6 138,928 $63,389 $167,100.0
Lafayette Parish 7 241,973 $56,999 $185,300.0
Bossier Parish 8 126,499 $54,268 $172,400.0
West Feliciana Parish 9 15,428 $59,637 $229,500.0
St. James Parish 10 21,308 $51,603 $158,500.0
Calcasieu Parish 11 201,619 $51,148 $156,800.0
East Feliciana Parish 12 19,371 $51,803 $139,300.0
Cameron Parish 13 6,930 $53,423 $119,500.0
East Baton Rouge Parish 14 443,763 $54,948 $194,000.0
Jefferson Parish 15 434,850 $54,032 $188,200.0
Lafourche Parish 16 98,108 $55,506 $158,000.0
St. John The Baptist Parish 17 43,242 $57,429 $153,900.0
Lincoln Parish 18 47,246 $35,467 $154,500.0
Caddo Parish 19 245,831 $41,797 $149,200.0
Union Parish 20 22,353 $44,100 $89,200.0
Vernon Parish 21 49,646 $49,141 $119,300.0
St. Mary Parish 22 50,968 $40,485 $106,900.0
Grant Parish 23 22,340 $42,505 $103,400.0
Beauregard Parish 24 37,043 $53,209 $127,500.0
Jefferson Davis Parish 25 31,441 $42,105 $114,000.0
Allen Parish 26 25,618 $46,446 $97,500.0
Vermilion Parish 27 59,865 $51,945 $122,200.0
Orleans Parish 28 390,845 $41,604 $231,500.0
Tangipahoa Parish 29 132,057 $47,832 $162,800.0
Lasalle Parish 30 14,936 $42,104 $93,000.0
Rapides Parish 31 130,970 $47,269 $143,100.0
Sabine Parish 32 23,991 $40,336 $94,300.0
Terrebonne Parish 33 112,054 $48,747 $152,500.0
Iberville Parish 34 32,822 $50,161 $143,700.0
Ouachita Parish 35 155,494 $41,121 $146,700.0
Winn Parish 36 14,313 $38,353 $77,700.0
Jackson Parish 37 15,879 $39,139 $89,500.0
St. Martin Parish 38 53,732 $48,656 $124,900.0
Assumption Parish 39 22,478 $43,759 $118,600.0
Pointe Coupee Parish 40 22,016 $41,480 $142,600.0
Webster Parish 41 39,242 $28,951 $81,500.0
St. Helena Parish 42 10,297 $43,886 $100,100.0
Avoyelles Parish 43 40,669 $38,565 $104,200.0
Richland Parish 44 20,350 $34,029 $91,900.0
De Soto Parish 45 27,289 $46,006 $117,300.0
Acadia Parish 46 62,457 $43,396 $118,000.0
West Carroll Parish 47 11,041 $38,500 $90,300.0
St. Bernard Parish 48 46,266 $44,661 $151,300.0
Concordia Parish 49 19,778 $32,500 $80,600.0
Iberia Parish 50 71,887 $46,861 $115,600.0
Bienville Parish 51 13,564 $30,272 $75,900.0
Morehouse Parish 52 25,610 $32,929 $91,100.0
Natchitoches Parish 53 38,769 $28,567 $137,400.0
St. Landry Parish 54 83,172 $36,403 $108,400.0
Catahoula Parish 55 9,766 $40,129 $89,000.0
Washington Parish 56 46,435 $37,570 $101,000.0
Madison Parish 57 11,306 $30,350 $78,100.0
Evangeline Parish 58 33,589 $31,965 $96,600.0
Red River Parish 59 8,565 $33,816 $78,700.0
Claiborne Parish 60 15,985 $26,776 $78,100.0
East Carroll Parish 61 7,096 $22,346 $76,800.0
Caldwell Parish 62 9,992 $37,691 $77,300.0
Franklin Parish 63 20,238 $35,282 $88,000.0
Tensas Parish 64 4,561 $27,500 $66,400.0
Download The Entire Louisiana Ranking Data
Editor’s Note: We updated this article for 2021. This is our seventh time ranking the best counties to live in Louisiana.

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

 Best Counties, Rankings