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Moving to
Laplace.
Laplace is an unincorporated community in St. John the Baptist Parish, LA. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.
What it's like to live in Laplace
Laplace is an unincorporated community in Louisiana with home prices that remain within reach, air quality that stays clean most of the year, 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. Laplace deals with commute times longer than most cities, college degree attainment below the national average, a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin, and hot summers.
The good
- Affordable home prices
- Clean air
- Low student-teacher ratio
The not so good
- Above-average commute times
- Low college degree attainment
- High rent burden for renters
- Hot summers
- Very rainy — 67" of rain per year
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
How Laplace compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Laplace
Based on Laplace's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,702
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $54,040 a year
- 52% of Laplace renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$39,980
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $19,990
- Homes cost 2.9× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of livingNear US average
$1,351/mo median rent
Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,351 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $199,900. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $199,900 · 52% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
5.2% county unemployment
Unemployment in St. John the Baptist Parish is 5.2%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
St. John the Baptist Parish (county-wide)
Safety
135 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Laplace doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 768/100k · Policed by St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting around▲ 27% above US
33 min average commute
Traffic is a real factor here. The 32.9 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 8% 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 & workforce▼ 46% below US
20% 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 14:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park (26 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Laplace's strongest points are home prices that remain within reach and air quality that stays clean most of the year; the main tradeoffs are commute times longer than most cities and college degree attainment below the national average. A year of median rent ($1,351/mo) equals 23% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It may be a harder fit for people who dread long commutes and anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Laplace
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