Best Places70517, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 70517, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
70517 ranks 29,661st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 70517
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.
70517's strengths and weaknesses
Where 70517 ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 116 pleasant days a year, better than 73% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$735 a month, better than 68% of zip codes
Where 70517 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 70517
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 70517 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,736, 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 70517's effective rate of 0.35%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 70517
70517's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 70517.
Who works in 70517, and how
Work in 70517 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 70517
70517 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 70517 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 70517, month by month
70517 sees roughly 116 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 70517
The nearest airport, Lafayette Regional/Paul Fournet Field, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 98 miles away.
The best schools in and around 70517
Schools across 70517 average a D+, better than 14% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Parks Primary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Crescent Elementary/junior High SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Teche Elementary SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top middle schools
- Parks Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Cecilia Junior High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- St. Martinville Junior High SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Cecilia High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Plaquemine Senior High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
- Breaux Bridge High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 70517 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
70517 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 70517 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 70517 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 70517
Is 70517 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 70517 ranks 29,661st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low property taxes, a stable housing market, and civic engagement, 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 70517 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $171,700. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $61,736 median income, cost of living beats 37% of zip codes.
Is 70517 safe?
70517 is safer than 20% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $617 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 70517?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 45. That works out to about 116 pleasant days a year, more than 73% of zip codes.
Is 70517 good for families?
Schools beat 14% of zip codes, crime safety beats 20%, and childcare runs $735 a month.
Compare 70517 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 70517. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 70517 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.
70517 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 70517: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 70517: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 70517: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 70517: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
70517 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.