Best PlacesWest End, New Orleans, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West End, New Orleans, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West End, New Orleans ranks 2,249th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West End, 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.
West End, New Orleans' strengths and weaknesses
Where West End, New Orleans ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$702 a month, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
Where West End, New Orleans ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West End, New Orleans
A household needs to earn about $135,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West End, New Orleans home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $114,834, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 West End, New Orleans' effective rate of 0.73%, 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 West End, New Orleans
West End, New Orleans'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 West End, New Orleans.
Who works in West End, New Orleans, and how
Work in West End, New Orleans centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in West End, New Orleans
West End, New Orleans has more parkland per resident than 91% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of West End, New Orleans and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West End, New Orleans, month by month
West End, 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 West End, 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 West End, New Orleans
Schools across West End, New Orleans average a C, better than 63% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Benjamin Franklin Elem. Math And ScienceD · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Haynes Academy School For Advanced StudiesA+ · 93% proficient
- Grace King High SchoolD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West End, New Orleans school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West End, 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 West End, New Orleans against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in West End, New Orleans
Is West End, New Orleans a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West End, New Orleans ranks 2,249th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a strong job market, affordable childcare, and an educated workforce, 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 West End, New Orleans expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $521,025. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $114,834 median income, cost of living beats 78% of neighborhoods.
Is West End, New Orleans safe?
West End, New Orleans is safer than 45% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $601 per resident a year.
Compare West End, New Orleans with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West End, New Orleans. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West End, 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.
West End, New Orleans detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West End, New Orleans: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West End, New Orleans: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West End, New Orleans: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West End, New Orleans: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West End, 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.