Best PlacesPonchatoula, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Ponchatoula, 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.
Ponchatoula ranks 1,963rd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Ponchatoula
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.
Ponchatoula's strengths and weaknesses
Where Ponchatoula ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 90% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 87% of cities
- Cheap childcare$737 a month, better than 87% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 79% of cities
Where Ponchatoula ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 5% of cities
- School gradeD+, better than only 7% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Ponchatoula
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ponchatoula home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,177, 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 Ponchatoula's effective rate of 0.39%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Ponchatoula
Ponchatoula's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Ponchatoula.
Who works in Ponchatoula, and how
Work in Ponchatoula centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Ponchatoula
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Ponchatoula.
What the weather is like in Ponchatoula, month by month
Ponchatoula sees roughly 100 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 63, 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 | 63° | 51° | 42° |
| April | 79° | 67° | 57° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 82° | 69° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Ponchatoula
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International sits about 32 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 Ponchatoula
Schools across Ponchatoula average a D+, better than 7% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- John L. Ory Communications Magnet ElementaryC+ · 36% proficient
- Champ Cooper Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- D.c. Reeves Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Madisonville Junior High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Martha Vinyard Elementary SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- Ponchatoula Junior High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Ponchatoula High SchoolC · 30% proficient
- Hammond High Magnet SchoolD · 21% proficient
- East St. John High SchoolD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ponchatoula school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ponchatoula 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 Ponchatoula against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Ponchatoula suits
Families
Schools land around the 7th percentile and crime safety beats 68%.
Common questions about living in Ponchatoula
Is Ponchatoula a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ponchatoula ranks 1,963rd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on low property taxes, a strong job market, and tree cover, and lowest on state infrastructure and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Ponchatoula expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $240,417. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $68,177 median income, cost of living beats 43% of cities.
Is Ponchatoula safe?
Yes, Ponchatoula is safer than 68% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $343 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Ponchatoula?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 63 with lows near 42. That works out to about 100 pleasant days a year, more than 60% of cities.
Is Ponchatoula good for families?
Schools beat 7% of cities, crime safety beats 68%, and childcare runs $737 a month.
Compare Ponchatoula with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ponchatoula. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ponchatoula 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.
Ponchatoula detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ponchatoula: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ponchatoula: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ponchatoula: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ponchatoula: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ponchatoula 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.