Source: Wikipedia
If you love history, culture, music, and cuisine then yes, New Orleans is a good place to live! But of course there’s more to deciding on the livability of a city than just those things. New Orleans has had a reputation for crime problems in the past, and things aren’t too much better today. So let’s look at the crime and safety, education, employment and more in New Orleans.
Safety in New Orleans
New Orleans is the Murder Capital of the United States so violent crime is the major problem here. However, murder and other violent crime is mostly confined to the poorer parts of the city, such as the housing projects, so there are other areas that can be just as safe as any other city. Looking at the overall stats though, New Orleans has a violent crime rate that is 24 percent greater than the Louisiana average, and the Louisiana average is 109 percent higher than the national average. The New Orleans Police Department oversees law and order in the city.
Employment and the Economy in New Orleans
New Orleans has a very large and bust port which, alongside tourism, higher learning, and numerous large corporations gives the city a fairly buoyant economy. Unemployment levels are lower than both the Louisiana and national averages, sitting at 6.4 percent compared to 6.8 percent and 8.3 percent, and the major employers in the city are Ochsner Health System, Tulane University, and Acme Truck Line. Despite a good level of employment New Orleans has a high poverty level with 27.9 percent living in poverty, which is 15 percent higher than the national average.
Cost of Living in New Orleans
Overall New Orleans is an affordable city to live in with a cost of living index 4 percent below the national average. Everything except for transportation comes in below the national average so that’s housing, groceries, goods and services, health care and utilities, while transportation is equal to the national average. Some neighborhoods in New Orleans are far cheaper to live in than others though these are usually the housing projects where housing is cheap but crime is high. At the other end of the scale, popular neighborhoods like the French Quarter are extremely expensive to live in, in comparison.
Schools and Education in New Orleans
New Orleans Public Schools serves all of the public schools in the city which amount to around 140. There are also 74 private schools and 24 post-secondary schools, including Tulane University, University of New Orleans, and Xavier University of Louisiana. Overall, high school graduation rates are higher in New Orleans than the rest of Louisiana, and they are higher than the national average at 74.7 percent compared to 55.7 percent (Louisiana) and 58.6 percent (national). With a large number of universities there are higher numbers of students completing bachelor’s degrees in the city compared to the state and national averages too.
Air Quality in New Orleans
Air quality in New Orleans is actually pretty good – levels are in line with the national average, and are just 8 percent greater than the Louisiana average. In a year (343 days measured), only one day was considered to have poor air quality while 53 were moderate, and 289 good. One thing that is not good in New Orleans is street cleanliness – in 2012 the city was rated the second dirtiest city in America having dropped from the top spot the previous year!
If you can find a neighborhood that’s not too expensive but are able to keep away from the housing projects, New Orleans is a nice city to live in. Cost of living is affordable, the economy is good, it’s a vibrant place to live, and crime is okay – again, if you keep away from those rough neighborhoods.
