Belle Chasse, Louisiana
Area Profile
10,934 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Belle Chasse, in Plaquemines Parish.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 13 sourcesUnemployment is 3.9% and median household income $115,012, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Plaquemines Parish, LA, which contains Belle Chasse, rather than for Belle Chasse alone.
Public schools test above most of the state: 84% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 2% of published profiles for schools.
Residential permitting has slowed: 31 units authorized over the past twelve months, 39% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Plaquemines Parish, LA, which contains Belle Chasse, rather than for Belle Chasse alone.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Plaquemines Parish, LA, which contains Belle Chasse, is 3.9%, lower than in 65% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment across Plaquemines Parish, LA, which contains Belle Chasse, fell 1.2% over the past year, to 9,797 employed residents.
Median household income of $115,012 is higher than in 88% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsPlaquemines Parish, LA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $60,905 | 29th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftPlaquemines Parish, LA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $62,897 | 30th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$17,7132024 ACS 5-Year | $115,012 | Top 12%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$4,6652024 ACS 5-Year | $46,927 | Top 21%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.5% | Top 31%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±2.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 29.1 min | Bottom 38%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 29.8% | Top 31%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 82.1% | 67th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentPlaquemines Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026 | 9,797 | Bottom 3%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Plaquemines Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026 | −2.3% | Bottom 20%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Plaquemines Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026 | −1.2% | Bottom 40%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forcePlaquemines Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026 | 10,193 | 2nd percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 83.2% | Top 31%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageNew Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $61,050 | Bottom 18%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageNew Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $47,290 | Bottom 18%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 1st percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Plaquemines Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026 | 0.0% | Bottom 45%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment ratePlaquemines Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026 | 3.9% | Top 35%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.7% | 35th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — New Orleans-Metairie, LA
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 12,030 | $30,400 |
| Registered Nurses | 11,530 | $81,850 |
| General and Operations Managers | 10,670 | $105,110 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 10,110 | $25,470 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 10,050 | $16,640 |
| Cashiers | 9,320 | $28,370 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Plaquemines Parish, LA, which contains this city.
84% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 87% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 12.7 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belle Chasse High School | Plaquemines Parish | 883 | 13.2 | 84% | 84% |
| Belle Chasse Academy · charter | Belle Chasse Academy | 773 | 12.5 | 86% | 92% |
| Belle Chasse Middle School | Plaquemines Parish | 656 | 10.9 | 78% | 83% |
| Belle Chasse Elementary School | Plaquemines Parish | 543 | 14.3 | 89% | 88% |
| Belle Chasse Primary School | Plaquemines Parish | 395 | 13.6 | — | — |
56.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Louisiana’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 9% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 91.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area is up 14% over five years, and up 2.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,826 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.45% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,331, below the $1,485 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,331 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $53,200 a year, about 46% of the median household income here of $115,012.
The typical renter household here spends 37% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,485 a month.
A median home at $410,000 costs 3.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $128,315, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
Prices here run about 9% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Belle Chasse’s median household income of $115,012, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area’s figure2023 | 91.2 | Top 9%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +2.7% | 43rd percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +13.9% | 1st percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +41.6% | 1st percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year | 3.2 | Bottom 30%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 79.8% | 58th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±3622024 ACS 5-Year | 4,573 | 88th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,113 | Top 30%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,701 | Top 29%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,331 | Top 29%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$1932024 ACS 5-Year | $1,485 | Bottom 20%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$34,7272024 ACS 5-Year | $410,000 | 83rd percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1862024 ACS 5-Year | $1,826 | 52nd percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$12,4162024 ACS 5-Year | $128,315 | Top 12%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.45% | 8th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±12%2024 ACS 5-Year | 37.3% | Bottom 15%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±112024 ACS 5-Year | 7 | 60th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.2% | 52nd percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 7.5% | 53rd percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±2012024 ACS 5-Year | 352 | 86th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 31 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Plaquemines Parish, LA, which contains Belle Chasse, rather than for Belle Chasse alone.
Federal tax returns show Plaquemines Parish, which contains Belle Chasse, lost about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $60,905, close to the $62,897 of households that moved out.
At 1.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Plaquemines Parish, LA, which contains Belle Chasse, rather than for Belle Chasse alone.
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Jefferson Parish, LA 381 people · 24% of arrivals
- Orleans Parish, LA 131 people · 8.2% of arrivals
- San Diego County, CA 72 people · 4.5% of arrivals
- St. Tammany Parish, LA 52 people · 3.3% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Jefferson Parish, LA 375 people · 22% of departures
- Orleans Parish, LA 146 people · 8.7% of departures
- St. Tammany Parish, LA 81 people · 4.9% of departures
- St. Bernard Parish, LA 49 people · 2.9% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Plaquemines Parish, LA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Belle Chasse, LA is not one. This is the figure for Plaquemines Parish, LA, which contains this city.
Weather & climate
8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 43°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 63.8 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 63.8" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 43°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 90°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 8 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 29°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, coastal flooding and inland flooding, with hurricane alone responsible for 68% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, lightning, cold wave, tornado, earthquake, hail, inland flooding, wildfire, winter weather, landslide, ice storm, strong wind, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Plaquemines Parish has a modeled homicide rate of about 11.3 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 17.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at about 26.9 per 100,000 residents in Plaquemines Parish.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Belle Chasse (Plaquemines Parish) rather than Belle Chasse itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Louis Armstrong New Orleans Intl at 18 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±12%2024 ACS 5-Year | 93.9% | Top 30%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 18 mi | Top 50%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 2 | Bottom 8%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.5% | Top 39%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louis Armstrong New Orleans Intl | MSY | 18 mi | 10,104 ft |
| Stennis Intl | HSA | 48 mi | 8,498 ft |
| Acadiana Rgnl | ARA | 113 mi | 8,002 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Other cities in New Orleans-Metairie, LA
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans | Orleans Parish | 371,853 | 47 | New Orleans vs Belle Chasse |
| Metairie | Jefferson Parish | 139,729 | 57 | Metairie vs Belle Chasse |
| Kenner | Jefferson Parish | 64,904 | 52 | Kenner vs Belle Chasse |
| Marrero | Jefferson Parish | 32,540 | 47 | |
| Laplace | St. John the Baptist Parish | 28,343 | 49 | |
| Terrytown | Jefferson Parish | 24,726 | 49 | |
| Chalmette | St. Bernard Parish | 22,616 | 53 | |
| Harvey | Jefferson Parish | 20,915 | 45 | |
| Gretna | Jefferson Parish | 17,389 | 48 | |
| Estelle | Jefferson Parish | 16,341 | 50 | |
| Luling | St. Charles Parish | 13,960 | 58 | |
| River Ridge | Jefferson Parish | 13,312 | 54 |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Belle Chasse side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Belle Chasse from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
ZIP codes in Belle Chasse
1 ZIP areaEvery ZIP area in Belle Chasse with census figures of its own, largest first.
| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70037 | 16,639 | $98,983 | $385,200 | 58 |