Best Places70643, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 70643, 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.
70643 ranks 33,065th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 70643
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.
70643's strengths and weaknesses
Where 70643 ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$710 a month, better than 72% of zip codes
Where 70643 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute49.4 minutes each way, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 70643
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 70643 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,092, 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 70643's effective rate of 0.08%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 70643
70643 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 70643.
Who works in 70643, and how
Work in 70643 centers on construction and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 97%
- Work from home 0%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 70643
The coast is about 54 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 70643, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 70643, month by month
70643 sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 53° | 42° |
| April | 80° | 69° | 58° |
| July | 93° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 85° | 71° | 60° |
Flying in and out of 70643
The nearest airport, Lake Charles Regional, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is William P Hobby, about 144 miles away.
The best schools in and around 70643
Schools across 70643 average a D+, better than 16% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lake Arthur Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Grand Lake ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Grand Lake High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Gueydan High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 70643 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
70643 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 70643 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 70643
Is 70643 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 70643 ranks 33,065th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low property taxes, a stable housing market, and quiet, and lowest on education levels and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 70643 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $153,900. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $72,092 median income, cost of living beats 39% of zip codes.
Is 70643 safe?
70643 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,222 per resident a year.
Compare 70643 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 70643. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 70643 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.
70643 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 70643: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 70643: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 70643: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 70643: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
70643 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.