Louisiana’s 10 Safest Cities of 2023

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The SafeWise Team is pleased to release the ninth annual Safest Cities report.

Here are the 10 Safest Cities in Louisiana for 2023

See if your city made the full list.

Louisiana reported some of the highest crime rates in the nation for the 2023 reporting year. But it’s not all doom and gloom: property crime in The Pelican State decreased year over year.

On the other hand, violent crime increased, and most Louisianans are concerned about experiencing gun violence or violent crime.

In this report

2023 Louisiana crime rates

Louisiana has the third-highest violent crime rate and the fourth-highest property crime crime rate in the US. Violent crime in Louisiana rose by 3% year over year and property crime decreased by 7%.

Property and violent crime rates in Louisiana

Image: SafeWise

Level of concern and experience with crime in Louisiana

According to our latest State of Safety survey, 32% of Louisianans feel safe in their state, which is the fourth-lowest percentage in the nation—only the residents of Illinois (28%), New York (30%), and New Mexico (31%) feel less safe in their states. On average, 50% of Americans claim to feel safe in their state.

Louisianans expressed some of the nation's highest levels of concern about crime and first-hand experiences with crime across the board. In particular, Louisiana residents are the second-most worried about gun violence (69%) and also the second-most likely to have experienced gun violence in the 12 months prior to the survey (23%). 

About 83% of Louisianans think crime is increasing, which puts them in a tie with Mississippians for the highest percentage in the nation. 

Level of concern and experience with natural disasters in Louisiana

For our 2023 State of Safety Survey, we asked participants about their natural disaster concerns, preparations, and experiences. Most Louisiana residents worried about hurricanes (79% LA, 42% US), flooding (70% LA, 48% US), and strong or high winds (69% LA, 62% US).

Louisianans are more likely than the average American to have some sort of disaster protection. Their most common strategies include a family emergency plan (51% LA, 40% US), emergency kits (48% LA, 44% US), and other safety equipment (39% LA, 18% US). About 23% of Louisiana residents said they've considered relocating (10% US).

Around 52% of Louisianans said they evacuated due to a natural disaster during the 12 months prior to the survey, which is the highest percentage in the nation and well above the national average of 11%. 

Crime concerns in Louisiana

We asked Louisiana residents which crimes they worry may happen to them. See if Louisianans are concerned about the same crime issues as the rest of the country.

Image: SafeWise

View the complete 2023 State of Safety report.

Violent crime in Louisiana: Fear vs. reality

About 66% of Louisiana residents worry about violent crime happening to them, which is the third-highest percentage in the nation.

This fear seems substantiated by Louisiana’s violent crime rate of 6.6 incidents per 1,000 people, which is the third-highest in the nation and represents a 3% increase compared to the previous reporting year. 

Around 24% of Louisiana respondents claimed to have experienced a violent crime in the 12 months prior to the survey, which is the second-highest percentage in the nation and represents a 118% increase from the previous year's survey.

Only Georgia residents reported a higher percentage of violent crime experiences (26%), while New York, South Carolina, Illinois, and Oklahoma tie with Louisiana at 24%. 

  • Violent crime accounts for 20% of all crime in Louisiana (US 17%).
  • 47% of Louisiana residents use some form of personal protection (US 39%).
  • Of the Louisianans who use personal protection, 47% prefer concealed firearms and 43% use pepper spray.
  • 48% of Louisiana residents said they added or increased security or safety measures during the 12 months prior to the survey, which is the highest percentage in the nation.
  • Louisiana ties with Alabama, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia for the highest self-defense incident rate nationwide: 0.8 per 100,000 people.

Attitudes about gun violence in Louisiana

  • 69% of Louisianans worry about gun violence, which is the second-highest percentage in the nation (47% US).
  • 23% experienced gun violence in the 12 months prior to the survey, which is the second-highest percentage in the nation and represents a year-over-year increase of 188%.
  • 28 mass shooting events occurred in Louisiana during the reporting year.

Image: SafeWise

Property crime in Louisiana: Fear vs. reality

About 62% of Louisiana survey respondents said they worried about property crime—the fifth-highest percentage nationwide—and 65% worried about package theft—the third-highest percentage nationwide. 

When it comes to first-hand experiences with property crime and package theft, Louisiana residents top the charts at 43% and 51%, respectively. To put those percentages into perspective, West Virginians and New Mexicans tied for the second-most property crime experiences at 39%, and New Yorkers and Oklahomans tied for the second-most package theft experiences at 44%.

Even though Louisiana’s property crime rate of 26.7 is high, it represents a 7% decrease year over year. In contrast, Louisianans reported a 126% increase in property crime experiences and a 143% increase in package theft experiences.

  • Burglary accounts for 22% of all property crime in Louisiana, which is the highest percentage in the nation (14% US). 
  • Of the Louisiana residents who use some form of property protection, most prefer security cameras (55%) or a security system (41%).
  • Of the Louisianans who use some form of package theft prevention, most prefer doorbell cameras (47% LA, 28% US).

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.

  • 29 Louisiana cities met the criteria for ranking.
  • Jennings made the biggest leap up the list, moving up 15 spots to land in second place.
  • Only Baker, Jennings, Broussard, and Lake Charles saw decreases in both property crime and violent crime compared to the previous year. 
  • Only Baker, Jennings, Rayne, Harahan, Broussard, and DeRidder have violent crime rates and property crime rates below the national averages. 
  • 3% of Louisiana's murders occurred in its 10 safest cities during the 2023 reporting year.

Image: SafeWise

The 10 safest cities in Louisiana

#1
Baker
(
+11
Up
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    12,931
  • Circle Dollar
    Median Income
    $55,371
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    0.0, 6.1, 3.9
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    0.0, 31.6, 24.6
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Jennings, Louisiana
#2
Jennings
(
+15
Up
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    9,592
  • Circle Dollar
    Median Income
    $37,301
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    0.2, 9.3, N/A
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    0.0, 30.4, N/A
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Rayne, Louisiana
#3
Rayne
(
New
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    7,987
  • Circle Dollar
    Median Income
    $36,813
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    0.6, N/A, 2.5
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    4.9, N/A, 23.0
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
#4
Harahan
(
-3
Down
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    9,243
  • Circle Dollar
    Median Income
    $68,846
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    3.2, 0.9, 1.3
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    6.4, 8.1, 8.8
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Geographic location of Broussard, Louisiana
#5
Broussard
(
+2
Up
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    13,667
  • Circle Dollar
    Median Income
    $85,055
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    2.0, 2.5, 2.5
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    18.4, 29.5, 33.0
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
DeRidder, Louisiana
#6
DeRidder
(
New
Icon Blank
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    10,512
  • Circle Dollar
    Median Income
    $50,889
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    3.8, N/A, N/A
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    16.0, N/A, N/A
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Geographic location of Slidell, Louisiana
#7
Slidell
(
+2
Up
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    27,561
  • Circle Dollar
    Median Income
    $57,920
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    2.9, 2.8, 2.7
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    24.7, 31.7, 28.5
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Kenner, Louisiana
#8
Kenner
(
-3
Down
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    66,250
  • Circle Dollar
    Median Income
    $58,419
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    4.1, 2.7, 2.2
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    22.3, 26.9, 29.3
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Westwego, Louisiana
#9
Westwego
(
New
Icon Blank
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    8,274
  • Circle Dollar
    Median Income
    $32,384
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    7.0, 7.0, 2.4
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    15.3, 19.9, 21.3
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
#10
Lake Charles
(
+1
Up
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    79,053
  • Circle Dollar
    Median Income
    $49,913
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    4.8, 5.2, 5.2
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2023, 2022, 2021
    24.8, 31.8, 36.9
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime

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. One of the best ways to stop a burglary before it happens is to add a home security system.

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Get a home security system

Find out which companies we recommend for every budget and lifestyle in our roundup of the Best Home Security Systems—and learn the basics with our guide on Everything You Need to Know About Home Security

Compare the best home security systems

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Best overall$599.00
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Amazon,
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Budget pick$245.00
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*Amazon.com price as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Read full disclaimer.

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Didn't find your city?

We calculated crime rates for every city in the state that met our population threshold, based on the state’s median population as calculated using FBI data. To request a report of the remaining cities in your state email info@safewise.com with the subject line: Safest Cities Full Report.

NOTE: If your city is missing from our full report, it means that it was below the population threshold or didn’t submit a complete crime report to the FBI in 2021.

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Find the safest cities in each state

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Related articles on SafeWise


Endnotes and sources

FBI Crime Data Explorer, "Documents & Downloads." Accessed February 6, 2023.

  • 2021 and 2020 Crime in the United States Annual Reports
    • Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
  • 2021 NIBRS Estimation Tables

FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, "Offenses Known to Law Enforcement [2019]." Accessed February 6, 2023.

Bureau of Justice Statistics, "National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)." Accessed February 6, 2023.

US Census Bureau, "2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates Subject Tables." Accessed February 6, 2023.

US Census Bureau, "2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables." Accessed February 6, 2023.

SafeWise, "2022 State of Safety survey." Accessed February 6, 2023.

Gun Violence Archive, "General Methodology." Accessed February 6, 2023.

Gun Violence Archive, "Past Summary Ledgers." Accessed January 3, 2023.

Gun Violence Archive, "Congress."

  • 2022 totals: Accessed January 3, 2023.
  • 2021 and 2020 totals: Accessed December 19, 2022.
Cathy Habas
Written by
Cathy Habas
With over eight years of experience as a content writer, Cathy has a knack for untangling complex information. Her natural curiosity and ability to empathize help Cathy offer insightful, friendly advice. She believes in empowering readers who may not feel confident about a purchase, project, or topic. Cathy earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Indiana University Southeast and began her professional writing career immediately after graduation. She is a certified Safe Sleep Ambassador and has contributed to sites like Safety.com, Reviews.com, Hunker, and Thumbtack. Cathy’s pride and joy is her Appaloosa “Chacos.” She also likes to crochet while watching stand-up comedy specials on Netflix.

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