Best PlacesLakewood, New Orleans, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lakewood, New Orleans, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lakewood, New Orleans ranks 2,117th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lakewood, 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.
Lakewood, New Orleans' strengths and weaknesses
Where Lakewood, New Orleans ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$702 a month, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Household income$154,592 median, better than 92% of neighborhoods
Where Lakewood, New Orleans ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Lakewood, New Orleans
A household needs to earn about $166,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lakewood, New Orleans home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $154,592; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Lakewood, New Orleans' effective rate of 0.74%, 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 Lakewood, New Orleans
Lakewood, New Orleans runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lakewood, New Orleans.
Who works in Lakewood, New Orleans, and how
Work in Lakewood, New Orleans centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Lakewood, New Orleans
Lakewood, New Orleans has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 96% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lakewood, New Orleans and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lakewood, New Orleans, month by month
Lakewood, 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 Lakewood, New Orleans
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International sits about 8 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 Lakewood, New Orleans
Schools across Lakewood, New Orleans average a C−, better than 42% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Benjamin Franklin Elem. Math And ScienceD · 16% proficient
Top middle schools
- J.d. Meisler Middle SchoolD · 19% proficient
- Frederick Douglass Community SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Haynes Academy School For Advanced StudiesA+ · 93% proficient
- Riverdale High SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lakewood, New Orleans school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lakewood, 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 Lakewood, New Orleans against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Lakewood, New Orleans
Is Lakewood, New Orleans a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lakewood, New Orleans ranks 2,117th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on health care access, affordable childcare, and what local pay buys, and lowest on state infrastructure and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lakewood, New Orleans expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $640,994. The overall cost of living runs about 16% above the national average. Set against a $154,592 median income, cost of living beats 94% of neighborhoods.
Is Lakewood, New Orleans safe?
Lakewood, New Orleans is safer than 49% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $591 per resident a year.
Compare Lakewood, New Orleans with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lakewood, New Orleans. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lakewood, 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.
Lakewood, New Orleans detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lakewood, New Orleans: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lakewood, New Orleans: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lakewood, New Orleans: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lakewood, New Orleans: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lakewood, 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.