Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Gretna earns a D−, ranked 151st of 161 in Louisiana, mostly because of health and safety. Residents are less healthy than 94% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its police reported 52 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 91% of U.S. towns. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 87% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 6 places on the National Register. 27% of residents live below the poverty line in Gretna, against 20% in Louisiana’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 17 of Louisiana’s 253 towns score lower on cost of living. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 95% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top.
Where Gretna beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Old Jefferson Parish Courthouse
Census counts: 717 in 1850, a peak of 24,875 in 1970, 17,814 in 2020. The archive holds 20 old photos and papers going back to 1871 and 7 maps from 1891 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Louisiana), ordered by how far Gretna is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Gretna. Close and well known come first.
Big draw3 mi Stadium & arenaCaesars Superdome
Big draw20 mi LakeLake Pontchartrain
3 mi MuseumNational World War II Museum707K visitors a year
3 mi MuseumThe Cabildo
7 mi GardenCity Park
4 mi National Historical ParkJean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve227K visitors a yearCaesars Superdome: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Pontchartrain: Mersh13, CC BY-SA 3.0 · National World War II Museum: Nolabob, CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Cabildo: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 3.0 · City Park: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY 2.5 · Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve: No machine-readable author provided. Jan Kronsell assumed (based on copyright cl, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gretna, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Gretna.
Gretna draws workers from New Orleans and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
Against the 3,368 U.S. towns with household incomes like Gretna’s, it is less healthy than 76%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income. Within Louisiana it is less healthy than 57% of the 161 graded towns: much of Louisiana scores lower on these measures.
18% of adults have diabetes in Gretna. Gretna beats the Louisiana average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 29% of adults worry about having enough food in Gretna.
| Gretna | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 12% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 33% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 19% |
| What stands out | Gretna | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.7% | 7.5% |
| More uninsured adults | 12.8% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Jefferson Parish school district. Three of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Young Audiences Charter SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 1,077 | C− |
| Young Audiences Charter High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 643 | D |
| Gretna No. 2 Academy for Advanced StudiesTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 355 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
9,935 jobs are based in Gretna, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Gretna for work: only 10% work in town. Gretna’s median household income is $43,000. The top destinations are New Orleans (30%), Metairie (9%) and Harvey (5%).
| Gretna | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $43,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.9% | 5.6% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 711 to 544 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Gretna is 28.9 per 1,000 residents. Gretna reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 91% report less. The violent crime rate in Gretna is 3.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Gretna | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 28.9 per 1,000 residents | 23.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.1 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
3,092 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 319 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 3,092 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Gretna.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 44.4°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91°.
Gretna has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Gretna | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 44°F | 42°F | 22°F |
| July high | 91°F | 92°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical value, about $235K, is 14% below its August 2022 peak. 70.4% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 54.8% across Louisiana.
The typical Gretna home is worth about $235,000, up 0.6% in a year, 10% above the Louisiana typical home. 49% of Gretna households own their home.
| Gretna | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,060 a month | $989 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Louisiana average. Gretna has lost 2.5% of its people since 2020, down to 17,360 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 27% across Louisiana.
| Gretna | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 20% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 22% | 24% | 22% |
| Median age | 38.3 years | 37.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 17% | 18% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.8 points. Across Louisiana, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.3, men 38.3.
| Gretna | LA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.5% | 12.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.3% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.3% | 13.3% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.1% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.5% | 11.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.8% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.6% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 24.3% | 12.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.2% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.2% | 20.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 2.9% | 7.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.1% | 17% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.3% | 10.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
0.1 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Gretna Park, at 90 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gretna Park | — | 90 |
| 2. Mel Ott Park | — | 17 |
| 3. Huey P Long Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
14 within 15 miles of the center of Gretna
About 5 of every 100 Gretna residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Louisiana.
Where Gretna’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 places in Gretna on the National Register of Historic Places.
15 notable people were born in Gretna.
City in Louisiana, United States
Gretna is the second-largest city in, and parish seat of, Jefferson Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Gretna lies on the west bank of the Mississippi River, just east and across the river from uptown New Orleans. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner metropolitan statistical area. The population was 17,814 at the 2020 U.S. census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Gretna.
| Town | LA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gretna | #151 | D− | C | D | B | D |
| Harvey | #129 | D | C+ | — | B | D− |
| New Orleans | #159 | D− | D | — | D− | C+ |
| Terrytown | #133 | D | C+ | — | B | D |
| Timberlane | #138 | D | C | — | B | C− |
Harvey, New Orleans, Terrytown and Timberlane report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Gretna with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Gretna grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #151 of 161 in Louisiana. It grades D for health, D for safety and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within Louisiana, it does better than 49% of towns.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($62,655 across the New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
15 notable people were born here, including Elfrid Payton and Mel Ott.
