More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround New Orleans to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of New Orleans are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which New Orleans ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the New Orleans area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to New Orleans proper, although Mandeville certainly tries.
We examined the 9 biggest suburbs of New Orleans to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Louisiana lists, these places are a little too far downwind of New Orleans in terms of quality of life.
$43,110 median income · $238,821 median home price
Located in
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
We’ll get the ball rolling with Gretna, the absolute worst place to live around New Orleans according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Gretna beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the New Orleans area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 5th worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Gretna.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$64,452 median income · $206,814 median home price
Welcome to Jean Lafitte. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 23.2 miles to New Orleans. Income levels here are the 5th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $64,452 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
$46,261 median income · $179,563 median home price
Located in
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Back up the highway we go for the third worst New Orleans suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Westwego on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other New Orleans suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$56,719 median income · $227,297 median home price
If you live in Pearl River, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 3rd lowest New Orleans suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 5th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near New Orleans. Remember, we looked at 9 cities for this study.
Pearl River is about 24.5 miles to downtown.
$70,497 median income · $218,143 median home price
Located in
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
Slidell has the distinction of being a New Orleans suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Slidell has the 3rd lowest home values in the metro New Orleans area, where the median price is $218,143. The median income is $94,405.
Slidell has an unemployment rate of 5.8% which ranks 4th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$64,020 median income · $268,195 median home price
Located in
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Kenner has 64,904 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 15.4%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$77,257 median income · $282,888 median home price
Ah, Abita Springs. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around New Orleans.
It’s the place with the 9th most out of work residents in the New Orleans metro area (1.7%).
$79,516 median income · $315,751 median home price
Located in
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Harahan is a city about 18.0 miles from New Orleans, but New Orleans probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Harahan has the 8th most uninsured people, 8th worst incomes, and has the 6th highest unemployment rate (3.8%) in the entire New Orleans metro area.
Homes only cost $315,751 for a reason. That’s cheap for New Orleans standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$94,405 median income · $355,608 median home price
Located in
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
If you absolutely have to live near New Orleans, then Mandeville might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst New Orleans suburb.
About 2.9% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Louisiana’s statewide median.
Louisiana statewide median: $60,756
Louisiana statewide median: $211,635
Louisiana statewide median: 6.3%
Louisiana statewide median: 18.9%
On the map
Where the worst New Orleans suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around New Orleans for 2026
To figure out how bad a New Orleans suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of New Orleans.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 9 suburbs to evaluate around New Orleans.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 9 in each category, where 1 was the worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near New Orleans.” We’re looking at you, Gretna.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around New Orleans.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst New Orleans Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gretna | 2.71 | 17,389 | $43,110 | $238,821 |
| 2 | Jean Lafitte | 3.43 | 2,266 | $64,452 | $206,814 |
| 3 | Westwego | 3.57 | 8,335 | $46,261 | $179,563 |
| 4 | Pearl River | 3.86 | 2,614 | $56,719 | $227,297 |
| 5 | Slidell | 4.43 | 28,561 | $70,497 | $218,143 |
| 6 | Kenner | 4.57 | 64,904 | $64,020 | $268,195 |
| 7 | Abita Springs | 6.86 | 2,699 | $77,257 | $282,888 |
| 8 | Harahan | 7.71 | 8,904 | $79,516 | $315,751 |
| 9 | Mandeville | 7.86 | 12,946 | $94,405 | $355,608 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 9 suburbs within 30 miles of New Orleans.
Summary
Summary: The areas around New Orleans where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding New Orleans with Gretna casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of New Orleans are Gretna, Jean Lafitte, Westwego, Pearl River, Slidell, Kenner, Abita Springs, Harahan, Mandeville.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around New Orleans aren’t all bad. Mandeville takes the cake as the best place to live around New Orleans. Not sold on Louisiana? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of New Orleans FAQs
What is the worst suburb of New Orleans?
Gretna ranks as the worst suburb around New Orleans for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Jean Lafitte and Westwego are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of New Orleans?
The worst-ranked suburbs around New Orleans are Gretna, Jean Lafitte, Westwego, Pearl River, Slidell, Kenner, Abita Springs, Harahan, Mandeville. We scored all 9 places within 30 miles.
Why does Gretna rank as the worst suburb?
Gretna posts the roughest combined numbers of the 9 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $43,110, a median home value of $238,821, and a poverty rate of 26.9%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near New Orleans?
Mandeville lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near New Orleans by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of New Orleans list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
