Lafayette makes Louisiana’s top 10 on 3 lists
Lafayette is ranked on 33 lists against the 163 Louisiana towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 3 and the top quarter on 11.
The lists Lafayette does best on
Each list ranks every LA town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Lafayette marked.
2 spots from the top 25 for health
Lists where Lafayette sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Lafayette lands in the top half on 16 of 22 lists
Each dot is Lafayette’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in LA, the right end is last. Areas where Lafayette does best come first.
Fewer kids than 77% of Louisiana
Not better or worse, just Lafayette’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Lafayette out-ranks 3 of its 4 ranked neighbors
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Where Lafayette lands in every LA ranking
36 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
People
Most educated#1 Elmwood · 60.6%
#9
Youngest#1 Grambling · 21.2
#67
Oldest#1 Greenwood · 53.5
#97
Most residents 65+#1 Greenwood · 28.9%
#59
Most kids#1 Milton · 37.3%
#125 Health
Healthiest#1 Elmwood · 80 / 100
#27
Lowest obesity#1 Central · 31%
#8
Fewest smokers#1 Elmwood · 10%
#33
Most active#1 Youngsville · 19%
#17
E
Fewest uninsured#1 Eden Isle · 5%
#29
W
Lowest depression#1 Woodmere · 22%
#46
Closest to a top hospital#1 Mamou · 0.4 mi
#122 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Lutcher · 34.8%
#17
Most trails#1 Donaldsonville · 2.4 mi / sq mi
#28
Most walkable#1 Kaplan · 169 / sq mi
#28 
Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Winnsboro · 12.8 min
#30 
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Richwood · 0.9 yrs
#142
Cheapest rent#1 Haynesville · $432/mo
#110
Lowest property tax#1 Opelousas · $199/yr
#130
Rent easiest to afford#1 Elmwood · 24.1%
#8 
The number on the right is Lafayette’s spot. All of Louisiana’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every LA list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.