New Orleans, LA crime & safety
New Orleans's reported crime rate is well above Louisiana's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 4,957 violent crimes were reported in 2023.
Crime reported to police, trends and how New Orleans compares with the towns next door, from FBI data.
Not graded yet
A grade needs all of the FBI's latest years (2023–2025). New Orleans's police department reported only 2023, so we don't grade it yet. The figures below are still real.
New Orleans at a glance
Reported crime per 1,000 residents, 2022–2023
Show as a table
| Year | New Orleans property | Louisiana property | New Orleans violent | Louisiana violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 46.4 | 28.2 | 14.4 | 6.4 |
| 2023 | 50.9 | 26.2 | 13.6 | 5.8 |
2023, by type
Offenses reported to police, not convictions.
Local public safety
New Orleans and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans | — | 13.6 | 50.9 | 2023 |
| Gretna | D | 3.1 | 28.9 | 2025 |
No town figures in the FBI's data: Meraux, Marrero, Terrytown, Metairie, Chalmette, Arabi.
What this data can and can't tell you
- It's reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many thefts and some assaults are never reported.
- Small numbers swing. In a town of about 364,200, a handful of incidents moves the rate noticeably from year to year. The trend matters more than any one year.
- Visitors count too. Towns with a campus, highway, beach or shopping center see incidents involving people who don't live there, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn't report a full year, not that nothing happened.
Mostly hurricanes. Expected storm and flood damage here is higher than in 95% of U.S. communities. 91,224 flood insurance claims paid since 1978.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2023, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. This isn't an official statement of public safety — in an emergency, call 911.