City profile · Louisiana · Census ACS 2023

New Orleans, LA

New Orleans's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

376,035
Residents
$55,339
Median income
$296,400
Median home
$1,007
Median rent (state)
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State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for New Orleans.

Place dossier plate

Sheet LA-NEW-ORLEANS-LA · New Orleans, LA 376,035 pop · income 28th pct · 184 tracts

POP-MAJOR · INC-MID · COL-BELOW · SAFE-UNK · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-MID · BOOK-MEGA

  • POP-MAJOR 376,035
  • INC-MID $55,339
  • COL-BELOW 88.2
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-LOWER 28th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Belle
  • HOME-MID $296,400
  • BOOK-MEGA 184 tracts

Nearest income peer: Belle, MO (+ $2 income $)

Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around New Orleans

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest New Orleans on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for New Orleans on ACS population and median household income . Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.

Similar population

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 376,035.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $55,339. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

New Orleans - the verdict

Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, New Orleans places in the 28th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

28th
percentile, household income
65th
percentile, home value
16th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this

Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.

Data Snapshot: New Orleans, LA

376,035 people live in New Orleans, Louisiana - a mid-sized U.S. city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $55,339 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 16.3%. New Orleans's housing stock carries a median value of $296,400, and the median resident age is 38.4 years. About 42.0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 56.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 710 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 46% from five years earlier. NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 70.5°F with 63.4 inches of precipitation per year.

Living costs in Louisiana run below the national norm: the state registers 88.2 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,007 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $212 across Louisiana, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Workers in New Orleans report an average commute of 19.6 minutes, with 63.2% driving alone and 13.7% working from home. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 62.4 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of New Orleans's data

How this reading path is ordered

This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to schools and households to population change to climate and hazard context to within-city variation to work and mobility to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For New Orleans, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares, annual population history. No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

1. Housing and income

How far does income reach against housing in New Orleans?

This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.

The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 16.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

Compare the housing trade-off →

2. Schools and households

What does the education layer cover for New Orleans?

The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.

The NCES join finds 79 public schools within the city match. 42.0% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.

See how the family ranking is built →

Question 3

What can 184 Census tracts reveal inside New Orleans?

PlainCities matches 184 Census tracts to this city.

That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.

Explore New Orleans's tract profiles →

4. Comparison shortlist

Which cities make useful reference points for New Orleans?

Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.

Within Louisiana, the closest population matches are Baton Rouge (223,699 residents, $49,944 income); Shreveport (183,483 residents, $48,465 income); Metairie (138,995 residents, $73,256 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Cleveland, OH (367,523 residents); Aurora, CO (390,201 residents); Tampa, FL (393,389 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Other supported questions

Why these stay compact

These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.

Population change

Is New Orleans growing, shrinking, or holding steady?

Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -21,207 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -5.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 710 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.

Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.

2020 estimate
383,361
2025 estimate
362,154
Period change
-5.5%

Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.

See the national growth ranking →

Climate and hazard context

What physical conditions frame life in New Orleans?

The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.

NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 70.5°F, with 63.4 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Louisiana is 62.4 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.

FEMA risk index (state avg)
62.4
Annual precipitation
63.4 in
Mean temperature
70.5°F

NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.

Read the source boundaries →

Work and mobility

What does the journey to work look like in New Orleans?

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 63.2%. The reported mean trip to work is 19.6 minutes.

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.

Drive alone
63.2%
Work from home
13.7%
Public transit
4.5%

City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 171,094 workers age 16+.

Compare commute patterns →

Population

376,035 residents

Large city (200k–999k)

Median Household Income

$55,339 /yr

Below median income · poverty 16.3% (High poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

88.2 (US=100)

Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Louisiana average

City profile score · New Orleans, LA

51/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023

Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Cost of living A+
88.2 index

BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.

Bachelor's+ share B+
42.0%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Household income F
$55,339

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Poverty rate F
16.3%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

New Orleans profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Cost of living, Bachelor's+ share, Household income, Poverty rate. Cost of livingBachelor's+ shareHousehold incomePoverty rate 51 C-
New Orleans profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Cost of living: 92/100 (A+) · 88.2 index
  • Bachelor's+ share: 77/100 (B+) · 42.0%
  • Household income: 28/100 (F) · $55,339
  • Poverty rate: 20/100 (F) · 16.3%

How does New Orleans compare to other US cities?

Where New Orleans sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 28% higher than other cities
Home value 65% pricier than other cities
Median rent 16% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares New Orleans against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Louisiana only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.

Louisiana-relative analysis

Median Gross Rent places New Orleans near the bottom of Louisiana's cities

Among the 477 Louisiana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, New Orleans ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares New Orleans only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#183 of 426
57th percentile in Louisiana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 477
0th percentile in Louisiana
Median Home Value
#25 of 419
94th percentile in Louisiana
Poverty Rate
#214 of 475
55th percentile in Louisiana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#16 of 477
97th percentile in Louisiana
How in-state ranks are ordered

Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Louisiana only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.

28thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

28th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How New Orleans's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$296,400 35th percentile more affordable than 35% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). This entry sits in this band. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. New Orleans $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023

New Orleans's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.4×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,389 of 15,516
More affordable than 14% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#80 of 117
Large cities (200,000–999,999)

At 5.4×, New Orleans sits in the pressured band: national rank #13,389 of 15,516 and #80 of 117large cities (200,000–999,999). Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.

How this ratio is calculated

Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000. Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0). This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.

Income distribution context

$55,339 New Orleans, LA median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - New Orleans, LA New Orleans, LA's median household income ($55,339) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not New Orleans, LA-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution New Orleans, LA median $55,339/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
New Orleans, LA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for New Orleans, LA.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 42.0%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 16.3%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 56.2%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
376,035
Median Income
$55,339
Median Home Value
$296,400
Median Age
38.4
Poverty Rate
16.3%
Labor force participation
56.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
42.0%

Climate

Avg Temperature
70.5°F
Annual Precipitation
63.4"
Annual Snowfall
0.0"

Schools

Total Schools
79
Public schools in this city

Population Change

PEP vintage

Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025

See the fastest-growing cities →
360,000 residents370,000 residents380,000 residents390,000 residents 202020212022202320242025 383,361 residents 362,154 residents ▼ -5.5%
New Orleans's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.
Read the chart as text
Period Population
2020 383,361 residents
2021 377,506 residents
2022 371,038 residents
2023 365,782 residents
2024 363,477 residents
2025 362,154 residents

Housing Supply

BPS source

Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized

📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
710
housing units authorized
Single-Family
202
detached homes
Multifamily
508
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.9
permits per 1,000 residents

5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)

Year Total
2019 1,306
2020 1,360
2021 1,576
2022 891
2023 1,067
2024 710

Permit volume decreased 46% from 2019 to 2024.

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Average Commute Time
19.6 minutes
Drive Alone
63.2%
Carpool
8.7%
Public Transit
4.5%
Walk
5.6%
Work from Home
13.7%
Other
4.3%

Based on 171,094 workers 16 and over.

Monthly Utility Costs

Louisiana statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $212

EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Louisiana at $212 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $42 ).

These are Louisiana statewide averages, not a meter reading for New Orleans. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.

Living Costs & Risk

Louisiana's BEA cost-of-living index is 88.2 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around New Orleans is $1,007/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Louisiana statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 62.4 / 100 (Moderate).

Cost/risk geography note

Cost of living is a Louisiana statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county New Orleans sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How New Orleans compares to similar-size Louisiana cities

Same-state peer method

Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.

City Population Median Household Income
New Orleans (this city) 376,035 $55,339
Baton Rouge 223,699 $49,944
Shreveport 183,483 $48,465
Metairie 138,995 $73,256
NOAA Normals NCES CCD Census BPS 2024
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

Browse all city profiles → · Explore city rankings →

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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