Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,703, settled in 1854.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades C, 70th of 161 graded towns in Louisiana. It is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. Jefferson is home to Chamberlain University-Louisiana. 16% of residents are under 18 in Jefferson, below both the Louisiana town median (24%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). Jefferson has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Camp Parapet Powder Magazine.
Where Jefferson beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Jefferson’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Louisiana), ordered by how far Jefferson is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 92% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 4%), so the C overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 19,353 in 1960, 10,633 in 2020. The archive holds 7 maps from 1891 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jefferson. Close and well known come first.
Big draw5 mi Stadium & arenaCaesars Superdome
Big draw16 mi LakeLake Pontchartrain
5 mi MuseumNational World War II Museum707K visitors a year
5 mi City parkCity Park
3 mi Zoo & aquariumAudubon Zoo
6 mi MuseumThe CabildoCaesars 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 · City Park: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY 2.5 · Audubon Zoo: MeRyan, CC BY 2.0 · The Cabildo: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 3.0
Jefferson is unincorporated, so Jefferson 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Jefferson.
Jefferson 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.
15,130 jobs are based in Jefferson, 3.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Jefferson’s average trip to work comes in at 20 minutes. Most working residents leave Jefferson for work: only 9% work in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs locally rose by 1,902, to 15,130. For half of commuters, work is under 5 miles away.
| Jefferson | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 14% | 5.6% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Public schools: the Jefferson Parish school district. The largest public high school is Riverdale High School, with 1,259 students. Below: Two of its 5 schools, each with why it was picked.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. John Ochsner Discovery Health Sciences AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 731 | B− |
| Riverdale High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,259 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
FEMA puts 85% of Jefferson’s expected hazard losses down to hurricanes, and 8% to inland flooding. 1,536 flood insurance claims have been paid in the town since 1978. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 10 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 8,093 U.S. towns with household incomes like Jefferson’s, it is less healthy than 54%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income. Within Louisiana it is healthier than 74% of the 161 graded towns: much of Louisiana scores lower on these measures.
Nearly two fifths of Jefferson adults sleep under 7 hours. In Jefferson, 18% of adults worry about having enough food, and 43% have high blood pressure.
| Jefferson | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 82% | 79% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 26% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 44% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 34% | 25% |
| What stands out | Jefferson | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 18.4% | 22.5% |
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 9.4% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 44.1°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.3°.
For Jefferson, the typical July afternoon high is 91°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Jefferson | 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
Among adults 25 and older, 36% have a four-year degree or more, against 27% across Louisiana. For Jefferson, the median age is 45.4 years.
| Jefferson | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 45.4 years | 37.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 20% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.5 points. Across Louisiana, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Jefferson | LA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.9% | 12.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.5% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16% | 13.3% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.4% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.3% | 11.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.4% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.3% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.7% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.8% | 12.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.4% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.5% | 20.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.6% | 7.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.1% | 17% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.6% | 10.1% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Values fell 8.9% in the past year while the Louisiana typical home rose 2.1%. The typical value, about $251K, is 29% below its April 2022 peak.
Homes sold in Jefferson spent a median 62 days on the market. Values fell 8.9% in the year to September 2026. In Jefferson, 57% of households own their home.
| Jefferson | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,097 a month | $989 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
14 within 15 miles of the center of Jefferson
About 4 of every 100 Jefferson residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Louisiana.
3 places in Jefferson on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in Louisiana, United States
Jefferson is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the north side (referred to as the "East Bank") of the Mississippi River. Jefferson is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner metropolitan statistical area. The population was 11,193 at the 2010 census, and 10,533 in 2020. It is often known by locals as "Old Jefferson" (to distinguish itself from the rest of Jefferson Parish), but should not be confused with Old Jefferson in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Jefferson.
| Town | LA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson | #70 | C | C | — | B | C |
| Elmwood | #6 | B+ | B− | — | B | A− |
| New Orleans | #159 | D− | D | — | D− | C+ |
| Bridge City | #108 | C− | B | — | B | D− |
Jefferson, Elmwood, New Orleans and Bridge City report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Jefferson with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Jefferson grades C overall, better than 32% of U.S. towns and #70 of 161 in Louisiana. It grades C for health and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 4 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.
2 notable people were born here, including Greg G. Guidry and Juan Joseph.
