Louisiana’s 10 Safest Cities of 2021
The SafeWise Team is pleased to release the seventh annual Safest Cities report.
Here are the 10 Safest Cities in Louisiana for 2021
1. Addis
2. Harahan
3. Youngsville
4. Mandeville
5. Tallulah
6. Westwego
7. Rayne
8. Scott
9. Carencro
10. Kenner
See if your city made the full list.
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Concerns run high in The Pelican State. According to our survey, fewer Louisianans feel safe in their state than other Americans with only 34% saying they’re comfortable in Louisiana (US 55%).
Our survey also revealed that 50% of Louisiana residents feel a high level of concern for their safety every day. Violent crime and gun violence are on the top of their concerns, which is reflected by the high violent crime rate in the state.
2021 Louisiana crime rates
But despite the high rate of concern, Louisianans are seven percentage points less concerned than last year. We also saw fewer firsthand experiences of violent crime and property crime from our survey respondents. However, gun violence experience more than doubled.
Level of concern and experience with crime in Louisiana
Those who call Louisiana home show a higher concern over violent crime and gun violence than most of the country. With violent crime rates higher than the national and regional average, we can see why.
Residents also show higher-than-average concern for package theft, mass shootings, and police violence. The only issue Louisiana residents show less-than-average concern for is COVID-19—with 59% concerned daily vs. the national 62%.
Crime concerns in Louisiana
We asked Louisianans which crimes they worry may happen to them. See if Louisiana residents are concerned about the same crime issues as the rest of the country.
View the complete 2021 State of Safety report.
Violent crime in Louisiana: Fear vs. reality
Despite the high violent crime rate in The Pelican State, Louisiana’s violent crime rate has dropped slightly since last year. That said, it still tops the regional and US violent crime rates by several points.
- Aggravated assault is the most common violent crime statewide and within the safest cities by a huge margin. Within the safest cities, it accounts for 69% of violent crime. Statewide, it makes up 73% of violent crime.
- Robbery is the second-most common violent crime, but not nearly as common as aggravated assault. It makes up 16% of violent crime statewide.
- Tallulah was the only safest city in Louisiana with a crime rate above the national average. The city saw 5.2 incidents of violent crime per 1,000 people in the last year.
- The safest city in Louisiana was Addis and the only city to have under 10 incidents of violent crime in the last year, all of which were aggravated assault.
- 7 of the 10 safest cities saw 0 murders in the last year.
- Gun violence was a top concern for many Louisiana residents. Of those who responded to our survey, 64% said they worry about gun violence in general, and 50% said they worried about being personally affected by it.
- Police violence was also on the minds of many Louisianans, with 47% saying they worry about it daily. In 2020, there were 59 officer-involved shootings.
- 39% of Louisiana residents say they carry some form of personal protection like pepper spray or stun guns with them.
- 41% say their personal safety has been affected by the pandemic.
Property crime in Louisiana: Fear vs. reality
Property crime has dropped slightly year over year since 2019. But Louisiana leads in property crime rates regionally and sits more than 10 points over the national average. The safest cities are no exception to these high property crime rates either. Only half of the 10 safest cities have crime rates below the national average.
- Louisiana has the highest property crime rate in the nation behind Washington D.C.
- Property crime in Louisiana accounts for 2.1% of the nation’s property crime incidents.
- Larceny-theft was the leading type of property crime in The Pelican State. In the safest cities, it accounted for 84% of property crime. Statewide, it made up 74% of property crime.
- Addis had only 1 incident of property crime in the last year.
- 66% of Louisiana residents use some form of property protection. Security cameras were the favorite with 40% of property owners choosing them over methods like security systems, guard dogs, and firearms.
- 38% of Louisianans say the security of their property has been affected by the pandemic (US 29%).
A closer look at the safest cities in Louisiana
For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.
- The top 2 cities, Addis and Harahan, hold the same spots from last year.
- Rayne and Kenner tie for most improved this year. Both cities jumped 5 spots this year with lower crime rates.
- Tallulah and Scott both dropped 2 spots in the last year. Although Tallulah ranks higher on our list, its violent and property crime rates rose more in the last 12 months.
- Youngsville had the lowest violent crime rate of our safest cities. It was the only one of 10 to have a rate below 1 incident per 1,000 people. The city also dropped its property crime rates by 4.9 incidents.
The 10 Safest Cities in Louisiana
Population5,747
Median Income$69,833
VC Rate 2021, 2020, 20191.6, 1.3, 1.8![Circle Property]()
PC Rate 2021, 2020, 20190.2, 0.0, 0.0
-
Population9,298
-
Median Income$63,854
-
VC Rate 2021, 2020, 20191.3, 1.3, 1.8
![Circle Property]()
PC Rate 2021, 2020, 20198.8, 11.2, 15.3
-
Population15,020
-
Median Income$86,637
-
VC Rate 2021, 2020, 20190.9, 0.8, 1.2
![Circle Property]()
PC Rate 2021, 2020, 201910.5, 15.4, 12.4
-
Population12,331
-
Median Income$71,643
-
VC Rate 2021, 2020, 20191.5, 1.3, 1.1
![Circle Property]()
PC Rate 2021, 2020, 201918.2, 17.5, 19.9
-
Population6,701
-
Median Income$26,385
-
VC Rate 2021, 2020, 20195.2, 3.1, 1.9
![Circle Property]()
PC Rate 2021, 2020, 20195.2, 3.4, 2.7
-
Population8,415
-
Median Income$29,854
-
VC Rate 2021, 2020, 20192.4, 2.6, 2.6
![Circle Property]()
PC Rate 2021, 2020, 201921.3, 20.0, 19.6
-
Population8,088
-
Median Income$34,670
-
VC Rate 2021, 2020, 20192.5, 2.6, 7.8
![Circle Property]()
PC Rate 2021, 2020, 201923.0, 23.9, 31.7
-
Population8,725
-
Median Income$51,213
-
VC Rate 2021, 2020, 20191.4, 1.7, 0.7
![Circle Property]()
PC Rate 2021, 2020, 201929.7, 18.0, 22.9
-
Population9,387
-
Median Income$36,531
-
VC Rate 2021, 2020, 20193.6, 2.4, 2.2
![Circle Property]()
PC Rate 2021, 2020, 201923.0, 28.6, 23.6
-
Population66,653
-
Median Income$53,885
-
VC Rate 2021, 2020, 20192.2, 2.3, 2.9
![Circle Property]()
PC Rate 2021, 2020, 201929.3, 30.2, 31.3
How we determined the safest cities
Learn how we identified the safest cities on our methodology page.
How to make a safe home anywhere
Whether your city made our list or not, we encourage everyone to be proactive about home security. Learn more about your home security options—and find out which companies we recommend for every budget and lifestyle in our roundup of the Best Home Security Systems.
Didn't find your city in the top 10?
We calculated crime rates for every city in the state that met our population threshold, based on the state’s median population. See how the remaining cities ranked in the list below.
NOTE: If you don’t see your city on the list, it means that it was below the population threshold or didn’t submit a complete crime report to the FBI in 2019.
|
2021 Rank
|
City
|
Population
|
VC per 1,000
 |
PC per 1,000
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Slidell | 27.77K | 2.7 | 28.5 |
| 12 | Baker | 13.24K | 3.9 | 24.6 |
| 13 | Broussard | 12.99K | 2.5 | 33.0 |
| 14 | Ruston | 22.15K | 3.8 | 30.6 |
| 15 | Zachary | 18.01K | 4.4 | 35.3 |
| 16 | Sulphur | 20.20K | 3.3 | 43.8 |
| 17 | Thibodaux | 14.59K | 5.6 | 35.3 |
| 18 | Lake Charles | 78.73K | 5.2 | 36.9 |
| 19 | Abbeville | 12.14K | 8.3 | 25.9 |
| 20 | Lafayette | 126.69K | 5.2 | 43.0 |
| 21 | Ville Platte | 7.03K | 1.3 | 58.3 |
| 22 | Gretna | 17.73K | 6.7 | 40.4 |
| 23 | Minden | 11.98K | 8.8 | 33.1 |
| 24 | Houma | 32.77K | 6.4 | 45.4 |
| 25 | Walker | 6.30K | 5.2 | 52.1 |
| 26 | Eunice | 9.94K | 5.1 | 55.3 |
| 27 | Bossier City | 69.04K | 7.9 | 46.7 |
| 28 | Shreveport | 187.56K | 7.8 | 49.0 |
| 29 | Pineville | 14.26K | 8.0 | 51.6 |
| 30 | Baton Rouge | 220.65K | 9.4 | 52.9 |
| 31 | Crowley | 12.62K | 12.5 | 41.8 |
| 32 | Breaux Bridge | 8.24K | 5.1 | 73.4 |
| 33 | Bogalusa | 11.68K | 12.6 | 46.1 |
| 34 | New Orleans | 394.50K | 11.4 | 52.9 |
| 35 | Gonzales | 10.94K | 5.6 | 85.3 |
| 36 | Natchitoches | 17.75K | 10.0 | 68.8 |
| 37 | West Monroe | 12.35K | 9.1 | 73.3 |
| 38 | Ponchatoula | 7.48K | 10.4 | 69.9 |
| 39 | Bastrop | 10.16K | 10.0 | 81.4 |
| 40 | Monroe | 47.75K | 17.7 | 65.8 |
| 41 | Alexandria | 46.63K | 15.7 | 89.6 |
| 42 | Opelousas | 16.05K | 24.5 | 80.2 |
Find the safest cities in each state
Click on the state image or dropdown menu below to check out the safest cities for each state.
Related articles on SafeWise
Sources
FBI: Uniform Crime Reporting Program, “2019 Crime in the United States,” Accessed March 15, 2021.
US Census Bureau, "Data Explorer," Accessed November 18, 2020.
Best Places, “Find a Place Search Tool,” Accessed January 6, 2021.
SafeWise, “2021 State of Safety survey,” Accessed March 15, 2021.
Gun Violence Archive, “Past Summary Ledgers,” Accessed January 6, 2021.
Gun Violence Archive, “General Methodology,” Accessed March 15, 2021.
Melody Hicks, Ben Stickle, Joshua Harms, American Journal of Criminal Justice, “Assessing the Fear of Package Theft,” January 04, 2021. Accessed March 15, 2021.
For definitions and more on data sources, see our methodology page.
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