Best Places70503, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 70503, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
70503 ranks 6,783rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 70503
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
70503's strengths and weaknesses
Where 70503 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Short commute19.0 minutes each way, better than 88% of zip codes
Where 70503 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 70503
A household needs to earn about $95,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 70503 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $111,726, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 70503's effective rate of 0.68%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 70503
70503's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 70503.
Who works in 70503, and how
Work in 70503 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 70503
70503 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 81% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 70503 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 70503, month by month
70503 sees roughly 115 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 53° | 45° |
| April | 80° | 70° | 61° |
| July | 92° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 83° | 71° | 62° |
Flying in and out of 70503
The nearest airport, Lafayette Regional/Paul Fournet Field, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 108 miles away.
The best schools in and around 70503
Schools across 70503 average a B, better than 62% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Broadmoor Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Woodvale Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- J. Wallace James Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- L.j. Alleman Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Edgar Martin Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Paul Breaux Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Lafayette High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- O. Comeaux High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Acadiana High SchoolC− · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 70503 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
70503 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 70503 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 70503 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 72% of zip codes and health care access beats 88%.
Common questions about living in 70503
Is 70503 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 70503 ranks 6,783rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, what local pay buys, and an educated workforce, and lowest on state infrastructure and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 70503 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $371,165. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $111,726 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 70503 safe?
70503 is safer than 38% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $480 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 70503?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 45. That works out to about 115 pleasant days a year, more than 72% of zip codes.
Is 70503 good for families?
Schools beat 62% of zip codes, crime safety beats 38%, and childcare runs $735 a month.
Compare 70503 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 70503. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 70503 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
70503 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 70503: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 70503: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 70503: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 70503: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
70503 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.