Best PlacesNatchitoches, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Natchitoches, 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.
Natchitoches ranks 45,647th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Natchitoches
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.
Natchitoches' strengths and weaknesses
Where Natchitoches ranks high
- Short commute18.0 minutes each way, better than 93% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of towns
- BikingBetter than 85% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of towns
Where Natchitoches ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of towns
- Household income$44,577 median, better than only 7% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Natchitoches
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Natchitoches home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $44,577, 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 Natchitoches' effective rate of 0.41%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Natchitoches
Natchitoches 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 Natchitoches.
Who works in Natchitoches, and how
Work in Natchitoches centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Natchitoches
Natchitoches has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of towns and more parkland per resident than 79% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Natchitoches and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Natchitoches, month by month
Natchitoches sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 61, 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 | 61° | 48° | 39° |
| April | 79° | 66° | 55° |
| July | 95° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 83° | 67° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Natchitoches
The nearest airport, Alexandria International, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is George Bush Intcntl/Houston, about 181 miles away.
The best schools in and around Natchitoches
Schools across Natchitoches average a C+, better than 51% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Natchitoches Magnet SchoolA · 69% proficient
- N.s.u. Elementary Lab SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Marthaville Elementary & Junior High SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- N.s.u. Middle Lab SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Natchitoches Jr. High SchoolF · 11% proficient
- East Natchitoches Elementary & Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Louisiana School For Math Science & The ArtsA+ · 88% proficient
- Natchitoches Central High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Montgomery High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Natchitoches school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Natchitoches 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 Natchitoches against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Natchitoches suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Natchitoches
Is Natchitoches a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Natchitoches ranks 45,647th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on short commutes, walkability, and low property taxes, 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 Natchitoches expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $173,737. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $44,577 median income, cost of living beats 6% of towns.
Is Natchitoches safe?
Natchitoches is safer than 8% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $812 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Natchitoches?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 39. That works out to about 69 pleasant days a year, more than 23% of towns.
Is Natchitoches good for families?
Schools beat 51% of towns, crime safety beats 8%, and childcare runs $732 a month.
Compare Natchitoches with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Natchitoches. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Natchitoches 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.
Natchitoches detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Natchitoches: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Natchitoches: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Natchitoches: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Natchitoches: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Natchitoches 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.