Best PlacesCentral City, New Orleans, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Central City, New Orleans, 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.
Central City, New Orleans ranks 5,851st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Central City, New Orleans
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.
Central City, New Orleans' strengths and weaknesses
Where Central City, New Orleans ranks high
- Cheap childcare$702 a month, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 78% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 69% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 67% of neighborhoods
Where Central City, New Orleans ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Central City, New Orleans
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Central City, New Orleans home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $44,324, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Central City, New Orleans' effective rate of 0.83%, 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 Central City, New Orleans
Central City, New Orleans runs younger than the country, 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 Central City, New Orleans.
Who works in Central City, New Orleans, and how
Work in Central City, New Orleans centers on hospitality & food and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 55%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 31%
Life in Central City, New Orleans
Central City, New Orleans has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Central City, New Orleans and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Central City, New Orleans, month by month
Central City, New Orleans sees roughly 127 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 48. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 55° | 48° |
| April | 79° | 71° | 65° |
| July | 92° | 85° | 80° |
| October | 82° | 75° | 69° |
Flying in and out of Central City, New Orleans
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International sits about 11 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 6.2 million passengers in 2025, with 112 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Central City, New Orleans
Schools across Central City, New Orleans average a D−, better than 9% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Benjamin Franklin Elem. Math And ScienceD · 16% proficient
- Kipp Central CityD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Haynes Academy School For Advanced StudiesA+ · 93% proficient
- Thomas Jefferson High School For Advanced StudiesA+ · 80% proficient
- The Net Charter High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Central City, New Orleans school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Central City, New Orleans 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 Central City, New Orleans against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Central City, New Orleans
Is Central City, New Orleans a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Central City, New Orleans ranks 5,851st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, walkability, and cell coverage, and lowest on state infrastructure and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Central City, New Orleans expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $296,493. The overall cost of living runs about 13% above the national average. Set against a $44,324 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Central City, New Orleans safe?
Central City, New Orleans is safer than 4% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,344 per resident a year.
Compare Central City, New Orleans with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Central City, New Orleans. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Central City, New Orleans 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.
Central City, New Orleans detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Central City, New Orleans: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Central City, New Orleans: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Central City, New Orleans: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Central City, New Orleans: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Central City, New Orleans 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.