Best PlacesRivers Bend Estates, Lafayette, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette ranks 2,546th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette
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.
Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$735 a month, better than 93% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
Where Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette
A household needs to earn about $95,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $104,726, 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 Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette's effective rate of 0.66%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette
Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette'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 Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette.
Who works in Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette, and how
Work in Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette.
What the weather is like in Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette, month by month
Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette sees roughly 114 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 53° | 45° |
| April | 80° | 70° | 61° |
| July | 92° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 83° | 71° | 62° |
Flying in and out of Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette
The nearest airport, Lafayette Regional/Paul Fournet Field, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 108 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette
Schools across Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette average a B−, better than 67% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- J. Wallace James Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- L.j. Alleman Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Edgar Martin Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Paul Breaux Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Lafayette High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- O. Comeaux High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette 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 Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette
Is Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette ranks 2,546th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on fast internet, health care access, and a stable housing market, and lowest on state infrastructure and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $369,199. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $104,726 median income, cost of living beats 89% of neighborhoods.
Is Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette safe?
Yes, Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette is safer than 72% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $415 per resident a year.
Compare Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette 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.
Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rivers Bend Estates, Lafayette 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.