Abbeville vs New Iberia

Which is the better fit for you?

Abbeville, LA
51
Area Score
Bottom 24% nationally
New Iberia, LA
55
Area Score
Bottom 37% nationally

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New Iberia receives the higher standardized Area Score. That reflects AreaProfile's weighting, not a judgment about which place is better to live in.

If you are moving

What the difference in prices, rent, homes and weather comes to, using the published figures for the two places. Add your income to see what it would take to keep pace.

Moving from Abbeville to New Iberia

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Everyday prices
The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes no regional price index for New Iberia, so nothing here is estimated in its place.
Income to keep the same purchasing power
Needs a price index for both places.
A new two-bedroom lease
+$71 a month
HUD benchmarks it at $905 in New Iberia against $834 in Abbeville.
The median home
63% more
$158,300 in New Iberia against $97,300 in Abbeville.
The weather you would swap
Similar winters
Normal January lows are 43°F in New Iberia against 43°F in Abbeville; July highs are 92°F against 92°F (summers the same).

These are differences between published figures, not a forecast of your budget. Income and sales taxes, commuting, schools, insurance and the job you would actually get are not in them, and a price index describes a metropolitan area, so two places in one metro read the same. HUD’s rent is a benchmark for a new lease, not a listing.

Signals

Abbeville
New Iberia
Opportunity: Abbeville is the more favorable of the two.
Opportunity
49 · Bottom 35%
vs
43 · Bottom 22%
Growth: New Iberia is the more favorable of the two.
Growth
19 · Bottom 4%
vs
40 · Bottom 30%
Climate
81 · Top 16%
vs
81 · Top 16%
Physical resilience: New Iberia is the more favorable of the two.
Physical resilience
23 · Bottom 18%
vs
31 · Bottom 25%
Housing affordability: New Iberia is the more favorable of the two.
Housing affordability
63 · Bottom 42%
vs
71 · Top 38%
Schools: Abbeville is the more favorable of the two.
Schools
78 · Top 15%
vs
76 · Top 17%
Access: New Iberia is the more favorable of the two.
Access
95 · Top 39%
vs
98 · Top 21%
Economic stability: New Iberia is the more favorable of the two.
Economic stability
17 · Bottom 1%
vs
19 · Bottom 2%

Measured values

MetricAbbevilleNew IberiaSource period
Population11,00327,5712024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income$33,015$47,087 — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income$22,489$31,076 — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Population density1,820/sq mi2,475/sq mi2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value$97,300$158,3002024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent — the two are too close to separate$829 ±$49$894 ±$752024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, two bedroom$834 — more favorable$905FY2026
Homeownership rate49.5%51.5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment rate3.9% — more favorable5.0%July 2026
Employment change (year over year)+0.4%+0.5% — more favorableJuly 2026
Bachelor's degree or higher10.2%17.3% — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate — the two are too close to separate31.3% ±7%25.8% ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units permitted (12 months)31812 months ending July 2026
Permits per 1,000 residents0.30.7 — more favorable12 months ending July 2026
Permit change (year over year)−84.2%0.0%12 months ending July 2026
Average July high92°F92°F1991-2020 Normals
Average January low43°F43°F1991-2020 Normals
Annual precipitation59.7"59.7"1991-2020 Normals
Distance to major airport15 mi4 mi — more favorableNASR current cycle
Average commute — the two are too close to separate24.3 min ±3.4 min21.4 min ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year
Median age33.937.02024 ACS 5-Year
Public schools8162024-25 school year
Students per teacher13.8 — more favorable14.22024-25 school year
Math proficiency72.8%75.7% — more favorable2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency82.1% — more favorable77.5%2018-19 school year
Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility71.7%76.6%2024-25 school year

A bolded value is the more favorable of the two where the metric has a clear direction. Metrics like population and density have no inherent better or worse and are shown unweighted.

3 rows above show both figures with a ± margin and neither in bold. Those come from the American Community Survey, which samples rather than counts, and the gap between the two is smaller than the uncertainty on the figures themselves — so the survey did not find a difference to report, and calling either one the winner would be reading a result out of noise.

The number of units permitted is not marked because the larger place always permits more; the per-resident rate is the fair comparison. The year-over-year change is not marked either: a percentage on fewer than 300 units swings on a handful of permits.

Physical risk tradeoff

Abbeville

Elevated or high exposure: drought, hurricane, inland flooding.

New Iberia

Elevated or high exposure: hurricane, inland flooding.

Your best match

Weight what matters to you. Your preferences stay in this browser and never change either Area Score.

Abbeville
—
Abbeville: Your Score
51
Area Score
New Iberia
—
New Iberia: Your Score
55
Area Score

Select your priorities to see which of the two fits them better.

Full profiles: Abbeville, LA · New Iberia, LA · How this is calculated: methodology