Bayou VistaLA
A town of 3,842. Public schools that outperform most of Louisiana.
Is Bayou Vista a good place to live?
Residents are less healthy than 98% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Overall it grades C−, 104th of 161 graded towns in Louisiana. Its schools rank ahead of 75% of Louisiana towns. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Bayou Vista’s concentration of trails is 1.1 miles per square mile, where Louisiana’s towns sit at 0.2 and U.S. towns at 0.4. On the outdoors, just 19 of Louisiana’s 255 towns do better.
What makes Bayou Vista stand out
Where Bayou Vista beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Bayou Vista Elementary School | PK–5 | 340 |
| Widest gap | Bayou Vista | LA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 12.1% | 8.5% |
How Bayou Vista grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Louisiana), ordered by how far Bayou Vista is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Bayou Vista: who provides what
Bayou Vista is unincorporated, so St. Mary Parish and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Bayou Vista.
Bayou Vista has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, trades workers with Morgan City and other neighbors and looks healthier within Louisiana than nationally.
Protected land: 1.2% of Bayou Vista
Trails total 2.0 miles in 1 park or preserve. Parks and preserves in Bayou Vista: one, of 6 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bayou Vista Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
For schools, Bayou Vista earns an A−
Its public schools are run by the St. Mary Parish school district. Enrollment at Bayou Vista’s public school: 340 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayou Vista Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 340 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
For health, Bayou Vista earns a D−
Within Louisiana it is less healthy than 75% of the 161 graded towns: much of Louisiana scores lower on these measures.
In Bayou Vista, 38% of adults feel lonely. Only 6 of the 161 Louisiana towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Bayou Vista. 19% of adults report frequent physical distress here, above both Louisiana’s towns (16%) and U.S. towns (14%).
| Bayou Vista | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 19% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 20% | 17% |
| What stands out | Bayou Vista | LA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 12.1% | 8.5% |
| More smokers | 23.6% | 17.3% |
| More uninsured adults | 11.5% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Bayou Vista faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by hurricanes
Households in Bayou Vista have drawn federal disaster aid in 7 declared disasters, most recently in 2024. FEMA puts 71% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to hurricanes, and 12% to inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mild winters and hot summers in Bayou Vista
January nights average 44.3°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.4°. The Morgan City weather station, 5 miles away, records that about 53 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 95% of Louisiana places with climate records.
Snowfall is close to zero. Its January low stands at 44°F. Among 162 Louisiana towns, just 10 have a lower midsummer high than Bayou Vista.
| Bayou Vista | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 44°F | 42°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 92°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in ten working residents works right in Bayou Vista
Bayou Vista has about as many jobs (1,506) as working residents, but only 164 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 15.5 minutes, against 25.7 across Louisiana.
Among residents in Bayou Vista, 25% live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Morgan City (22%), Franklin (7%) and Berwick (4%). Its average trip to work stands at 16 minutes. Half the trips to work are shorter than 17 miles.
| Bayou Vista | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 25% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $41,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
A home in Bayou Vista sells for about $240K at the median
Bayou Vista’s rent at the middle of the market is $864 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Bayou Vista
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Bayou Vista; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Bayou Vista residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Louisiana.
About Bayou Vista
Census-designated place in Louisiana, United States
Bayou Vista is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bayou Vista had a population of 4,213. It is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 699 ft
Bayou Vista’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Bayou Vista.
| Town | LA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayou Vista | #104 | C− | B | — | A− | D− |
| Berwick | #36 | B− | A | — | A− | D |
Bayou Vista and Berwick report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bayou Vista with a neighbor →
Questions about Bayou Vista
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Bayou Vista, LA a good place to live?
Bayou Vista grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #104 of 161 in Louisiana. It grades D− for health and A− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Bayou Vista, LA expensive?
The typical home is worth about $145,000, 32% below the Louisiana typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.