Safest Parishes in Louisiana: 14 Ranked (2026)
The 14 Louisiana parishes where police report enough to the FBI to build a reliable rate, ranked by violent crime, with home prices, asking rents and incomes where available.
Louisiana has 64 parishes. Fourteen of them clear the reporting bar this page uses, and the gap between the quietest, St. Tammany at 125 violent offenses per 100,000, and the busiest, Ouachita at 885, is 7.1 to one. Beside each rate sits what homes there closed at over the last 12 months, from 26,111 closing records Resideline tracked across all 14 parishes.
Louisiana's parishes are county equivalents, and this page uses the two words interchangeably.
The crime rates here are built from the 2,209,824 residents those police agencies actually report on, over the months they reported. Each figure is a single county-wide figure, so treat this as a way to narrow a search rather than a verdict on any street.
We do not treat missing or conflicting crime data as zero. A parish appears here only when its reporting clears our reliability threshold, and we set aside results that conflict materially with the state's own records. Whether a parish is ranked depends on its crime reporting alone; whether it shows a price depends on whether Resideline tracked enough closings there.
The ranking
| # | Parish | Violent per 100k | Property per 100k | Median closed price | Median asking rent | Median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Tammany | 125 | 656 | $300,000 | $1,845 | $84,478 |
| 2 | St. Charles | 225 | 816 | $285,000 | $1,450 | $85,615 |
| 3 | Lafourche | 249 | 1,367 | $217,000 | $1,200 | $68,348 |
| 4 | Ascension | 264 | 1,510 | $310,000 | $1,950 | $93,654 |
| 5 | Jefferson | 267 | 1,942 | $280,000 | $1,500 | $63,692 |
| 6 | Terrebonne | 362 | 2,177 | $215,000 | $1,200 | $61,990 |
| 7 | Livingston | 368 | 1,152 | $250,000 | $1,700 | $76,462 |
| 8 | Acadia | 398 | 1,274 | $179,000 | $950 | $51,455 |
| 9 | Bossier | 467 | 1,961 | $269,900 | $1,695 | $68,234 |
| 10 | Tangipahoa | 553 | 2,170 | $250,000 | $1,300 | $57,775 |
| 11 | Calcasieu | 614 | 2,499 | $234,700 | $1,250 | $66,871 |
| 12 | Iberia | 658 | 1,490 | $195,000 | $1,000 | $53,127 |
| 13 | Lafayette | 726 | 2,360 | $255,584 | $1,500 | $66,072 |
| 14 | Ouachita | 885 | 3,262 | $244,500 | $1,399 | $59,701 |
A closer look at the 12 safest parishes
1. St. Tammany Parish
St. Tammany records 125 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, which places it in the lowest quarter of the Louisiana parishes measured here. That is below the median comparable US county, which records 245. Buyers there paid a median of $300,000, some 120 percent of the level across the parishes measured. Safe and expensive is the usual pairing on this list, and this is one of its clearest cases. Median household income is $84,478, roughly 127 percent of the level across this list. Asking rents of $1,845 a month against that price put it in the top quarter of this list for gross return. Resideline publishes a separate page for Slidell, the market with the most tracked closings in this parish's ZIP codes.
2. St. Charles Parish
Police in St. Charles reported 225 violent offenses per 100,000 people, putting it in the lowest quarter of this list. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. Homes there closed at a median of $285,000, about 114 percent of the median across this list. Safe and expensive is the usual pairing on this list, and this is one of its clearest cases. Against local incomes it is among the most affordable parishes measured, at 3.3 times median household income. Property crime is low too, at 816 per 100,000, the bottom quarter of this list and 0.7 times the median comparable US county.
3. Lafourche Parish
Lafourche records 249 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, which places it in the lowest quarter of the Louisiana parishes measured here. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. A median closing price of $217,000 puts it at roughly 87 percent of the middle figure for this list. Whatever premium safety commands elsewhere on this list, it is not being collected here. A home costs 3.2 times the median household income there, the lowest quarter of this list. Property offenses run at 1,367 per 100,000, in the middle of this list. For prices at street level, see Thibodaux, the market with the most tracked closings in this parish's ZIP codes.
4. Ascension Parish
Police in Ascension reported 264 violent offenses per 100,000 people, putting it in the lowest quarter of this list. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. Homes changed hands at a median $310,000, around 124 percent of what the rest of this list recorded. Low crime and high prices arrive together here, which is the arrangement buyers assume is universal and is not. Local incomes go further here than almost anywhere else on this list, with homes at 3.3 times median household income. At $1,950 a month in asking rent, the gross return here is in the top quarter of the parishes measured. Resideline publishes a separate page for Gonzales, the market with the most tracked closings in this parish's ZIP codes.
5. Jefferson Parish
At 267 violent offenses per 100,000, Jefferson sits in the middle range of the places on this list. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. Homes there closed at a median of $280,000, about 112 percent of the median across this list. Buying there takes 4.4 times the median household income, a heavier lift than most of this list. Its property rate, 1,942 per 100,000, sits in the middle of these parishes. The median rental listing asks $1,500 a month. For prices at street level, see Metairie, the market with the most tracked closings in this parish's ZIP codes.
6. Terrebonne Parish
Police in Terrebonne reported 362 violent offenses per 100,000 people, putting it in the middle range of this list. That is 1.5 times the median comparable US county, which records 245, though still below the Louisiana statewide rate of 430 per 100,000 in the same data. The median home closed at $215,000, roughly 86 percent of the middle figure for these parishes. Property offenses run at 2,177 per 100,000, in the middle of this list. Asking rents run about $1,200 a month. Resideline publishes a separate page for Houma, the market with the most tracked closings in this parish's ZIP codes.
7. Livingston Parish
At 368 violent offenses per 100,000, Livingston sits in the middle range of the places on this list. That is 1.5 times the median comparable US county, which records 245, though still below the Louisiana statewide rate of 430 per 100,000 in the same data. At $250,000, its median closed price is unremarkable against the rest of this list. The ratio of price to local household income is 3.3, among the gentlest on this list. Asking rents of $1,700 a month against that price put it in the top quarter of this list for gross return. Its property rate is among the lowest here, 1,152 per 100,000, or 1.0 times the median comparable US county. For prices at street level, see Denham Springs, the market with the most tracked closings in this parish's ZIP codes.
8. Acadia Parish
Acadia records 398 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, which places it in the middle range of the Louisiana parishes measured here. That is 1.6 times the median comparable US county, which records 245, though still below the Louisiana statewide rate of 430 per 100,000 in the same data. Homes there closed at a median of $179,000, about 72 percent of the median across this list. Households there earn a median of $51,455, about 77 percent of the median for these parishes. Property crime is low, at 1,274 per 100,000, the bottom quarter of this list and 1.1 times the median comparable US county. Asking rents run about $950 a month.
9. Bossier Parish
Police in Bossier reported 467 violent offenses per 100,000 people, putting it in the middle range of this list. That is 1.9 times the median comparable US county, which records 245, and above the Louisiana statewide rate of 430 per 100,000 in the same data. The median closed price, $269,900, sits near the center of the parishes measured. At $1,695 a month in asking rent, the gross return here is in the top quarter of the parishes measured. Property offenses run at 1,961 per 100,000, in the middle of this list. Resideline publishes a separate page for Bossier City, the market with the most tracked closings in this parish's ZIP codes.
10. Tangipahoa Parish
At 553 violent offenses per 100,000, Tangipahoa sits in the middle range of the places on this list. That is 2.3 times the median comparable US county, which records 245, and above the Louisiana statewide rate of 430 per 100,000 in the same data. At $250,000, its median closed price is unremarkable against the rest of this list. Buying there takes 4.3 times the median household income, a heavier lift than most of this list. Property offenses run at 2,170 per 100,000, in the middle of this list. The median rental listing asks $1,300 a month. For prices at street level, see Ponchatoula, the market with the most tracked closings in this parish's ZIP codes.
11. Calcasieu Parish
Calcasieu records 614 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, which places it in the middle range of the Louisiana parishes measured here. That is 2.5 times the median comparable US county, which records 245, and above the Louisiana statewide rate of 430 per 100,000 in the same data. The median closed price, $234,700, sits near the center of the parishes measured. Its property rate of 2,499 per 100,000 is in the top quarter here, and 2.1 times the median comparable US county. The median rental listing asks $1,250 a month. Resideline publishes a separate page for Lake Charles, the market with the most tracked closings in this parish's ZIP codes.
12. Iberia Parish
Police in Iberia reported 658 violent offenses per 100,000 people, putting it in the highest quarter of this list. That is 2.7 times the median comparable US county, which records 245, and above the Louisiana statewide rate of 430 per 100,000 in the same data. Buyers there paid a median of $195,000, some 78 percent of the level across the parishes measured. Households there earn a median of $53,127, about 80 percent of the median for these parishes. Property offenses run at 1,490 per 100,000, in the middle of this list. The median rental listing asks $1,000 a month. For prices at street level, see New Iberia, the market with the most tracked closings in this parish's ZIP codes.
Does safety set the price in Louisiana?
Somewhat, and less than you would expect. The safest third of these parishes runs 22 percent above the highest-crime third on price. The same safe places also earn 35 percent more, so income explains part of the raw gap. This state-level comparison does not isolate density, housing mix or other factors that may explain the remainder.
That matches what we found nationally: across 688 counties, once income and other county characteristics are controlled for, a crime rate stops predicting home prices. The full analysis is in our study of crime and home prices.
That is a county-level result. Within a county, research at the scale of a block or a neighborhood finds that violent crime does lower the value of the homes nearest to it, so use these figures to compare parishes, not streets.
Where safety and affordability overlap in Louisiana
Three of the 4 safest parishes on this list also cost no more than the list's median once prices are set against local incomes: St. Charles (225 violent per 100,000, a home at 3.3 times median household income); Lafourche (249 violent per 100,000, a home at 3.2 times median household income); Ascension (264 violent per 100,000, a home at 3.3 times median household income). Against what households there earn, those are the parishes where a low crime rate is not being charged for.
The parishes we cannot rank
Larger Louisiana places are missing from the table above. Every one with more than 150,000 residents is listed here with the reason.
- •East Baton Rouge, with about 453,000 residents, reports 52 percent of its population through the FBI program, below the 90 percent we require.
- •Caddo, with about 225,000 residents, reports 87 percent of its population through the FBI program, below the 90 percent we require.
Reporting to the FBI is voluntary and incomplete. Where a place's agencies cover only part of its population, the rate is built on the part that reported, so it describes those communities rather than the whole area. We publish at 90 percent coverage or better, which is a line we chose rather than a point where the data becomes reliable.
How to read this list
A rate like this averages everything inside the area, from its downtown to its farmland, and the spread within one of them is often wider than the spread between them. Use it to shortlist, then look at the specific address and the block it sits on.
Prices and rents are as of September 9, 2026, from closings and rental listings Resideline tracks over the previous 12 months; a price is shown where at least 100 closings were tracked and a rent where at least 50 listings were. Rent figures are the median asking rent on listings, not lease figures. Crime is the 2025 FBI Crime Data Explorer release, measured for the whole parish over the months each agency reported, and violent crime means murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Household income is the Census SAIPE 2024 estimate of the parish's median household income; population is the Census 2024 estimate. Where this page compares a rate with the median comparable US county, that figure (245 violent and 1188 property offenses per 100,000) is the median across the 874 US counties with at least 50,000 residents whose agencies reported on 90 percent or more of them for the year.
Sources and related pages
- •Crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer, agency-level offense counts for 2025, aggregated by county over the months each agency reported.
- •Income: Census SAIPE 2024, county median household income.
- •Population: Census county population estimates, vintage 2024.
- •Prices and rents: Resideline's tracked closings and rental listings, 12 months to September 2026.
- •Related: Safest counties by state; Does crime actually lower home prices?; Louisiana housing market; Safest counties in Arkansas; Safest counties in Mississippi; Safest counties in Texas.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the safest parish in Louisiana?
Of the 14 Louisiana parishes measured here, St. Tammany Parish records the lowest violent crime rate at 125 offenses per 100,000 residents, against 245 for the median comparable US county. Homes there closed at a median of $300,000 over the last 12 months.
Is this every parish in Louisiana?
No. It covers 14 of the state's 64 parishes, the ones where police agencies report at least 90 percent of the population to the FBI, the area has at least 50,000 residents, and the resulting rate falls inside the sanity bounds we apply. Whether Resideline has enough sales there decides only whether a price is shown. The larger places that miss those bars are listed on the page with the reason.
Does a lower crime rate mean higher home prices?
Less than most people assume. Comparing the safest third of these parishes with the highest-crime third, the median closed price is 22 percent higher and household income 35 percent higher. Across 688 US counties we found that once income and other county characteristics are controlled for, a county's crime rate stops predicting its home prices. At the scale of a block, the research says violent crime does lower nearby values.
Is this crime rate for my neighborhood?
No. The FBI publishes these figures for whole counties, so every part of a county carries the same number here, from its densest district to its farmland. It is useful for narrowing a search and not a substitute for looking at a specific address.
Are these rents asking rents or lease rents?
They are the median asking rent on rental listings in the county over the last 12 months. That is what landlords advertised, a guide to the market rather than a lease figure.
About the author
Jeffrey Batista
Jeffrey Batista is the founder of Resideline, a real estate technology company building institutional grade valuation and investment analysis tools for real estate investors.
A software engineer with more than 10 years of experience, Jeffrey has worked across full stack development, infrastructure, data engineering, machine learning, and large scale systems. He left his engineering career to build Resideline full time.
Jeffrey is also a real estate investor with nearly a decade of hands on experience buying, renovating, managing, and analyzing residential properties. His experience on both sides of the industry, as an engineer and an investor, led him to build Resideline after seeing how fragmented and outdated many of the tools available to individual investors were.
Today, he leads the development of Resideline's proprietary data infrastructure, automated valuation models, rental analytics, and investment underwriting technology.