PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

New Orleans-Metairie, LA

58.7
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#73
of 387 metros
81%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

New Orleans ranks #73 of 387 US metros, ahead of 81% - carried by its schools (90/100) and held back most by safety (26/100).

90
strongest: Schools
84
then: Childcare
26
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where New Orleans sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

59 Top 19% higher than 81% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). This entry sits in this band. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. 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 PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the New Orleans Life Score

New Orleans's composite score of 58.7 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #73 of 387, ahead of 81% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Schools (90/100) and Childcare (84/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (26/100) and Rent (47/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 92.6 (rent-RPP 86.0). BLS median salary $64,688, 428,400 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,331/mo (studio $964).

FBI UCR (LA): 410 violent, 1773 property/100K. NCES: 16.8:1 ratio, 11.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,396/yr. EPA: 29 Superfund sites (LA). Ranks #70-#76 below.

Dimension detail

How New Orleans scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 58/100 (20%)
Wages 61/100 (20%)
Rent 47/100 (15%)
Safety 26/100 (15%)
Schools 90/100 (10%)
Childcare 84/100 (10%)
Environment 64/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

92.6
Cost Index (RPP)
$64,688
Avg Median Salary
$1,331
2BR Fair Market Rent
410
Violent Crime/100K (LA)
16.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,396
Infant Childcare/yr (LA)
29
Superfund Sites (LA)
428,400
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare New Orleans With...

New Orleans vs Monroe Compare → New Orleans vs Shreveport Compare → New Orleans vs Lafayette Compare → New Orleans vs Wildwood Compare → New Orleans vs Waterloo Compare → New Orleans vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

New Orleans outranks 81% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#70 Jacksonville, FL 59.0 B+
#71 La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN 59.1 A-
#72 Lima, OH 59.2 A-
#73 New Orleans-Metairie, LA 58.7 B+
#74 Decatur, IL 58.7 B+
#75 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 58.7 B+
#76 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA 58.6 B+

LA Metro Scores

Monroe, LA A 63.5 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA A 62.9 Lafayette, LA A- 61.2 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA B+ 58.6 Hammond, LA B+ 57.8 Lake Charles, LA B+ 56.7

Using New Orleans's Life Score

New Orleans is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is schools (90/100) and its weakest is safety (26/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put New Orleans head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where New Orleans lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are New Orleans's biggest strengths? ▼
New Orleans's strongest dimensions are Schools (90/100), Childcare (84/100), Environment (64/100). Schools is top-tier nationally.
What are New Orleans's weakest areas? ▼
New Orleans's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (26/100), Rent (47/100), Cost of Living (58/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is New Orleans compared to the national average? ▼
New Orleans's Regional Price Parity is 92.6 (7.4% less than national); rent RPP 86.0.
What is the average salary in New Orleans? ▼
New Orleans median salary: $64,688, 428,400 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, General and Operations Managers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
New Orleans's 58.7/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

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

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.