These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Louisiana For 2018

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 pat of Louisiana, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 45 counties in the state.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Pelican State for 2018:

1. St. Tammany Parish (Photos)
2. Ascension Parish (Photos)
3. West Baton Rouge Parish (Photos)
4. Lafayette Parish (Photos)
5. Bossier Parish (Photos)
6. East Feliciana Parish
7. Jefferson Parish (Photos)
8. Livingston Parish (Photos)
9. Jackson Parish (Photos)
10. East Baton Rouge Parish (Photos)

St. Tammany Parish is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Louisiana. And you might want to avoid Natchitoches 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 best places to raise a family in Louisiana.

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

We then ranked each county in Louisiana across each of the criteria from one to 45, 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. Tammany Parish is the best county, while Natchitoches Parish is probably in contention for being the worst county in Louisiana.

1. St. Tammany Parish

Biggest Place: Slidell
Population: 246,269
Median Income: $63,686 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $202,000 (21st best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.3% (17th best)
More on St. Tammany Parish: Photos | Data

2. Ascension Parish

Biggest Place: Prairieville
Population: 117,009
Median Income: $71,752 (1st best)
Median Home Price: $172,300 (25th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.9% (7th best)
More on Ascension Parish: Photos | Data

3. West Baton Rouge Parish

Biggest Place: Port Allen
Population: 25,017
Median Income: $53,882 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $168,600 (26th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.6% (11th best)
More on West Baton Rouge Parish: Photos | Data

4. Lafayette Parish

Biggest Place: Lafayette
Population: 234,963
Median Income: $52,435 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $168,300 (27th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.1% (1st best)
More on Lafayette Parish: Photos | Data

5. Bossier Parish

Biggest Place: Shreveport
Population: 124,720
Median Income: $51,894 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $158,400 (28th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.7% (5th best)
More on Bossier Parish: Photos | Data

6. East Feliciana Parish

Biggest Place: Jackson
Population: 19,756
Median Income: $48,997 (11th best)
Median Home Price: $137,100 (34th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.1% (8th best)
More on East Feliciana Parish: Data

7. Jefferson Parish

Biggest Place: Metairie
Population: 435,204
Median Income: $49,457 (10th best)
Median Home Price: $173,500 (23rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.4% (10th best)
More on Jefferson Parish: Photos | Data

8. Livingston Parish

Biggest Place: Denham Springs
Population: 135,925
Median Income: $57,334 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $152,700 (29th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.2% (9th best)
More on Livingston Parish: Photos | Data

9. Jackson Parish

Biggest Place: Jonesboro
Population: 15,999
Median Income: $38,310 (29th best)
Median Home Price: $85,300 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.6% (4th best)
More on Jackson Parish: Photos | Data

10. East Baton Rouge Parish

Biggest Place: Baton Rouge
Population: 445,337
Median Income: $49,942 (9th best)
Median Home Price: $173,200 (24th best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.0% (13th best)
More on East Baton Rouge Parish: Photos | Data

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. Natchitoches Parish
2. East Carroll Parish
3. West Carroll Parish

For more Louisiana reading, check out:

• 10 Most Dangerous Places In Louisiana
• 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Louisiana
• 10 Worst Places To Live In Louisiana
• 10 Most Diverse Cities In Louisiana

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Louisiana

County	Rank	Population	Median Income	Median Home Price
St. Tammany Parish	1	246,269	$63,686	$202,000
Ascension Parish	2	117,009	$71,752	$172,300
West Baton Rouge Parish	3	25,017	$53,882	$168,600
Lafayette Parish	4	234,963	$52,435	$168,300
Bossier Parish	5	124,720	$51,894	$158,400
East Feliciana Parish	6	19,756	$48,997	$137,100
Jefferson Parish	7	435,204	$49,457	$173,500
Livingston Parish	8	135,925	$57,334	$152,700
Jackson Parish	9	15,999	$38,310	$85,300
East Baton Rouge Parish	10	445,337	$49,942	$173,200
Allen Parish	11	25,619	$41,801	$82,700
St. James Parish	12	21,581	$51,386	$134,500
Grant Parish	13	22,372	$40,389	$87,200
Caddo Parish	14	253,125	$40,815	$132,400
Lasalle Parish	15	14,927	$35,339	$69,100
Vernon Parish	16	52,101	$46,561	$107,900
Union Parish	17	22,460	$37,049	$89,500
Lafourche Parish	18	97,688	$52,071	$138,200
Iberville Parish	19	33,159	$46,480	$115,500
Red River Parish	20	8,757	$36,831	$83,900
Jefferson Davis Parish	21	31,399	$39,202	$97,600
Calcasieu Parish	22	197,233	$46,457	$126,600
Terrebonne Parish	23	113,099	$48,166	$139,200
St. Martin Parish	24	53,385	$46,450	$108,900
Webster Parish	25	40,335	$31,920	$80,800
Sabine Parish	26	24,144	$39,372	$78,900
Vermilion Parish	27	59,524	$47,083	$103,800
St. Mary Parish	28	53,053	$40,771	$95,500
Acadia Parish	29	62,372	$39,837	$91,600
Orleans Parish	30	382,922	$37,488	$197,000
Lincoln Parish	31	47,480	$34,527	$141,300
Rapides Parish	32	132,373	$42,132	$129,000
De Soto Parish	33	27,047	$42,368	$103,600
St. Landry Parish	34	83,699	$31,424	$95,200
Winn Parish	35	14,695	$32,063	$71,700
Evangeline Parish	36	33,765	$30,724	$86,600
Tangipahoa Parish	37	127,115	$43,690	$143,300
Concordia Parish	38	20,288	$28,405	$77,800
Avoyelles Parish	39	41,252	$34,985	$93,000
Ouachita Parish	40	156,398	$38,974	$128,500
Morehouse Parish	41	26,739	$30,279	$80,500
Washington Parish	42	46,367	$31,013	$82,100
West Carroll Parish	43	11,370	$36,670	$73,100
East Carroll Parish	44	7,419	$22,093	$55,900
Natchitoches Parish	45	39,258	$30,697	$105,400