What it's like to live in Abbeville
Abbeville is a small city in Louisiana with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Abbeville deals with crime rates above the national average, college degree attainment below the national average, a poverty rate above the national average, and a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low student-teacher ratio
The not so good
- Crime above national average
- Low college degree attainment
- High poverty rate
- High rent burden for renters
- Very rainy — 64" of rain per year
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
How Abbeville compares
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Abbeville
Based on Abbeville's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,658
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $33,160 a year
- 50% of Abbeville renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$19,460
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $9,730
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 41% below US
$829/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $829 a month. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $97,300. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $97,300 · 50% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.0% county unemployment
Unemployment in Vermilion Parish is 4.0%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Vermilion Parish (county-wide)
Safety▲ 97% above US
784 violent crimes per 100k
Crime is a real factor here, with violent rates significantly above the national average. That doesn't make the whole city a write-off, but it does mean specific neighborhoods deserve real research before signing a lease.
Property crime 2170/100k · Abbeville Police Department · 2022 data
Getting aroundNear US average
25 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 25.1 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 5% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 89°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 43°F. It's a wet climate overall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 3.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 72% below US
10% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
4 public schools inside the boundary
There are 4 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 13:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Bottom line
Abbeville's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are crime rates above the national average and college degree attainment below the national average. It tends to suit people watching their budget.
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