Best Places71227, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 71227, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
71227 ranks 22,159th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. State infrastructure pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in 71227
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.
71227's strengths and weaknesses
Where 71227 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$712 a month, better than 71% of zip codes
Where 71227 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 71227
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 71227 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,002, 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 71227's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 71227
71227's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 71227.
Who works in 71227, and how
Work in 71227 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 71227
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 71227.
What the weather is like in 71227, month by month
71227 sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 47° | 39° |
| April | 77° | 64° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 80° | 66° | 56° |
Flying in and out of 71227
The nearest airport, Monroe Regional, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 220 miles away.
The best schools in and around 71227
Schools across 71227 average a B, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Choudrant Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Central Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Ruston Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Calhoun Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Ruston Junior High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Choudrant High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Ruston High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- West Ouachita High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 71227 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
71227 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 71227 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 71227
Is 71227 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 71227 ranks 22,159th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, low property taxes, and a strong job market, 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 71227 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $234,420. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $72,002 median income, cost of living beats 53% of zip codes.
Is 71227 safe?
71227 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $453 per resident a year.
Compare 71227 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 71227. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 71227 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.
71227 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 71227: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 71227: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 71227: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 71227: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
71227 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.