Best PlacesWillhite, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Willhite, 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.
Willhite ranks 29,964th of 50,333 U.S. towns 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 Willhite
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.
Willhite's strengths and weaknesses
Where Willhite ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 85% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of towns
- QuietBetter than 71% of towns
Where Willhite ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 1% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 13% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Willhite
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Willhite home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,750, 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 Willhite's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 Willhite
Willhite runs older 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 Willhite.
Who works in Willhite, and how
Work in Willhite centers on construction and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Willhite
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Willhite.
What the weather is like in Willhite, month by month
Willhite sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 59, 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 | 59° | 47° | 39° |
| April | 78° | 66° | 56° |
| July | 94° | 83° | 74° |
| October | 82° | 68° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Willhite
The nearest airport, Monroe Regional, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 215 miles away.
The best schools in and around Willhite
Schools across Willhite average a C, better than 34% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Drew Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Union Parish Elementary SchoolF · 5% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Ridge Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
Top high schools
- West Monroe High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Union Parish High SchoolF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Willhite school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Willhite 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 Willhite against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Willhite
Is Willhite a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Willhite ranks 29,964th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, 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 Willhite expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $229,650. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $72,750 median income, cost of living beats 55% of towns.
Is Willhite safe?
Willhite is safer than 40% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $416 per resident a year.
Compare Willhite with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Willhite. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Willhite 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.
Willhite detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Willhite: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Willhite: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Willhite: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Willhite: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Willhite 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.