Best PlacesWashington Parish, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Washington Parish, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Washington Parish ranks 3,072nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Washington Parish
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.
The best areas in Washington Parish
The parts of Washington Parish, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Franklinton & Mount Hermon
More households have young kids, heat risk is lower, and local pay stretches further.
Bogalusa
More residents vote.
Angie
More homes sit empty and advertised internet is slower.
Scores across Washington Parish run from about the 1st to the 28th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Washington Parish's strengths and weaknesses
Where Washington Parish ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 97% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 79% of counties
- QuietBetter than 78% of counties
- Cheap childcare$642 a month, better than 68% of counties
Where Washington Parish ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 1% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of counties
- Household income$47,981 median, better than only 6% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Washington Parish
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Washington Parish home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $47,981, 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 Washington Parish's effective rate of 0.29%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Washington Parish
Washington Parish'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 Washington Parish.
Who works in Washington Parish, and how
Work in Washington Parish centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Washington Parish
Washington Parish has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Washington Parish and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Washington Parish growing, and who is moving in?
Washington Parish has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Slidell, LA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Washington Parish go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Washington Parish, month by month
Washington Parish sees roughly 94 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 52° | 42° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 57° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 84° | 69° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Washington Parish
The nearest airport, Hattiesburg/Laurel Regional, is about 59 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 60 miles away.
The best schools in and around Washington Parish
Schools across Washington Parish average a D+, better than 9% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Enon Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Baxterville SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Fifth Ward Junior High SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Picayune Junior High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Franklinton Junior High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Franklinton Elementary SchoolC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Picayune Memorial High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Pine SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Franklinton High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Washington Parish school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Washington Parish 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 Washington Parish against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Washington Parish suits
Common questions about living in Washington Parish
Is Washington Parish a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Washington Parish ranks 3,072nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low property taxes, tree cover, and a stable housing market, 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 Washington Parish expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $158,997. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $47,981 median income, cost of living beats 8% of counties.
Is Washington Parish safe?
Washington Parish is safer than 15% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $635 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Washington Parish?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 65 with lows near 42. That works out to about 94 pleasant days a year, more than 56% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Washington Parish?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Franklinton & Mount Hermon, Bogalusa, and Angie. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Washington Parish with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Washington Parish. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Washington Parish 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.
Washington Parish detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Washington Parish: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Washington Parish: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Washington Parish: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Washington Parish: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Washington Parish 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.