Best PlacesElmwood, New Orleans, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Elmwood, New Orleans, 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.
Elmwood, New Orleans ranks 3,744th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Elmwood, 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.
Elmwood, New Orleans' strengths and weaknesses
Where Elmwood, New Orleans ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$702 a month, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Short commute18.1 minutes each way, better than 89% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
Where Elmwood, New Orleans ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Elmwood, New Orleans
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elmwood, New Orleans home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,709, 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 Elmwood, New Orleans' effective rate of 0.55%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Elmwood, New Orleans
Elmwood, 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 Elmwood, New Orleans.
Who works in Elmwood, New Orleans, and how
Work in Elmwood, New Orleans centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Elmwood, New Orleans
Elmwood, New Orleans has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 91% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Elmwood, New Orleans and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Elmwood, New Orleans, month by month
Elmwood, New Orleans sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 55° | 45° |
| April | 81° | 71° | 61° |
| July | 94° | 84° | 77° |
| October | 84° | 74° | 65° |
Flying in and out of Elmwood, New Orleans
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International sits about 4 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 Elmwood, New Orleans
Schools across Elmwood, New Orleans average a C+, better than 66% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Airline Park Academy For Advanced StudiesA+ · 88% proficient
- Hazel Park/hilda Knoff SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- T.h. Harris Middle SchoolD− · 16% proficient
- Frederick Douglass Community SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Riverdale High SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- East Jefferson High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elmwood, New Orleans school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Elmwood, 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 Elmwood, New Orleans against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Elmwood, New Orleans
Is Elmwood, New Orleans a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elmwood, New Orleans ranks 3,744th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a stable housing market, affordable childcare, and short commutes, 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 Elmwood, New Orleans expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $203,973. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $70,709 median income, cost of living beats 46% of neighborhoods.
Is Elmwood, New Orleans safe?
Yes, Elmwood, New Orleans is safer than 57% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $571 per resident a year.
Compare Elmwood, New Orleans with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elmwood, New Orleans. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Elmwood, 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.
Elmwood, New Orleans detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elmwood, New Orleans: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elmwood, New Orleans: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elmwood, New Orleans: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elmwood, New Orleans: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Elmwood, 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.