Best Places71438, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 71438, 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.
71438 ranks 27,968th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 71438
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.
71438's strengths and weaknesses
Where 71438 ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$698 a month, better than 75% of zip codes
Where 71438 ranks low
- Short commute50.9 minutes each way, better than only 1% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 3% 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 71438
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 71438 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,388, 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 71438's effective rate of 0.23%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 71438
71438 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 71438.
Who works in 71438, and how
Work in 71438 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 71438
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 71438.
What the weather is like in 71438, month by month
71438 sees roughly 107 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 50° | 42° |
| April | 79° | 67° | 58° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 82° | 69° | 59° |
Flying in and out of 71438
The nearest airport, Alexandria International, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is George Bush Intcntl/Houston, about 170 miles away.
The best schools in and around 71438
Schools across 71438 average a C+, better than 50% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Caroline Dormon Junior High SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Anacoco Elementary SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Forest Hill Junior High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Vernon Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Alexandria Senior High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Pickering High SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Rapides High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 71438 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
71438 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 71438 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 71438
Is 71438 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 71438 ranks 27,968th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low property taxes, tree cover, and a stable housing market, and lowest on long commutes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 71438 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $154,054. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $68,388 median income, cost of living beats 51% of zip codes.
Is 71438 safe?
71438 is safer than 24% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $547 per resident a year.
Compare 71438 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 71438. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 71438 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.
71438 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 71438: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 71438: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 71438: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 71438: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
71438 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.