What it's like to live in Broussard
Broussard is a small city in Louisiana with rent below the national average, county unemployment below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Broussard deals with air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, hot summers, very rainy, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Low unemployment in the county
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Low crime rates
- Short commutes
- Fast-growing population
The not so good
- Air quality concerns
- Hot summers
- Very rainy — 63" of rain per year
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Broussard compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Broussard
Based on Broussard's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,020
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $40,400 a year
- 45% of Broussard renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$62,040
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $31,020
- Homes cost 2.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 29% below US
$1,010/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $1,010 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $310,200. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.
Median home value $310,200 · 45% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
3.6% county unemployment
Unemployment in Lafayette Parish is 3.6%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Lafayette Parish (county-wide)
Safety▼ 38% below US
203 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 1818/100k · Broussard Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 24% below US
20 min average commute
Commutes are reasonable, averaging 19.8 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 9 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 91°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 45°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. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforceNear US average
36% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 36% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
3 public schools inside the boundary
There are 3 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Bottom line
Broussard's strongest points are rent below the national average and county unemployment below the national average; the main tradeoffs are air quality that falls short of national benchmarks and hot summers. A year of median rent ($1,010/mo) equals 10% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, anyone prioritizing low crime, and people who want short commutes.
Other places near Broussard
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