Photo: Richard Byrd · CC BY 2.0Measured against area pay, Jennings costs less to live in than 88% of U.S. towns
It ranks #15 of 161 in Louisiana for affordability. Up 3.7% in a year, 35% below the Louisiana typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Lake Charles, LA metro area ($67K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
Only 3 sales in May 2026: in a market this size, monthly medians swing a lot, so the typical value is the steadier guide.
The grade compares costs with what households across the Lake Charles metro earn ($67K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 2.0 years of metro income, and 59% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $140Ktypical home, 35% below the Louisiana typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $920a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 86prices across the Lake Charles metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 52)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 2.0 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$67K, Lake Charles-area income
- 16%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 59%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Louisiana: 55%Census 2020–24
- 10%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Jennings, in brief
Prices are 9% below their 2021 peak
The typical Jennings home peaked at $153K in March 2021 and is worth about $140K now. Louisiana as a whole is 5% off its own peak. Over five years, Jennings is down 3.5%. Price trend ↓
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Jennings home runs about $760 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $920. Can I afford it? ↓
Very little new building
Jennings permitted 56 new homes over the past 10 years, about 0.6 a year per 1,000 residents. Across Louisiana, the pace in 2025 was 3.3. In 2025, Jennings permitted 4. New homes ↓
Fewer people, more homes
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Jennings lost 546 residents while 112 new homes were permitted. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Jennings’ grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Jennings is more affordable than 88% of U.S. towns, #15 of 161 in Louisiana. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Louisiana: down 3.5% in five years, against 1.2% statewide (Zillow).
Down 3.5% in five years
Slower than Louisiana (1.2%).
Show as a table
| January | Jennings | Louisiana |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $140,000 | $182,000 |
| 2018 | $137,000 | $184,000 |
| 2019 | $128,000 | $185,000 |
| 2020 | $145,000 | $195,000 |
| 2021 | $150,000 | $205,000 |
| 2022 | $151,000 | $216,000 |
| 2023 | $133,000 | $218,000 |
| 2024 | $135,000 | $212,000 |
| 2025 | $144,000 | $212,000 |
| 2026 | $139,000 | $211,000 |
| September 2026 | $140,000 | $214,000 |
A typical Jennings home worth $135K in October 2016 is worth about $140K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A typical home costs 2.0 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Jennings’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Jennings home, with $149K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $920 a month here, $160 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Jennings’s typical property tax (0.21% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $920
Renters already here pay a median of $881.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Acadia Parish, LA HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
4 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 4 new homes in Jennings in 2025, all single-family houses. That's 0.4 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Louisiana (3.3). Over the past 10 years, Jennings has permitted 56 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Jennings's population fell by 546 even though 112 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. Across Louisiana: 0.9 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $512,000 |
| 2024 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $195,000 |
| 2023 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2022 | 3 | 1 | 2 | $462,000 |
| 2021 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $779,000 |
| 2020 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2019 | 10 | 6 | 4 | $1.7 million |
| 2018 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2017 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $799,000 |
| 2016 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $875,000 |
| 2015 | 10 | 8 | 2 | $1.2 million |
| 2014 | 36 | 36 | 0 | $3.2 million |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $125,000 |
| 2012 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $202,000 |
| 2011 | 19 | 3 | 16 | $1.4 million |
| 2010 | 15 | 15 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2009 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $880,000 |
| 2008 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2007 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $977,000 |
| 2006 | 31 | 17 | 14 | $2.7 million |
| 2005 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $574,000 |
| 2004 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $2.1 million |
| 2003 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2002 | 9 | 7 | 2 | $739,000 |
| 2001 | 20 | 12 | 8 | $1.4 million |
| 2000 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $886,000 |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the Louisiana norm
The median bill is $281 (Louisiana: $1,180), 0.21% of a home’s value a year, against 0.55% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Jennings
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Lake Charles, LA metro area, or Louisiana. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 86 | LA 88 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 94 | LA 94 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 72 | LA 71 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 96 | LA 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Jennings and its neighbors
One source per column.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jennings | A | $140K | $137K | 0.21% | $920 |
Questions about the cost of living in Jennings
Is Jennings expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Jennings costs less than 88% of U.S. towns: an A for cost of living, #15 of 161 in Louisiana. The typical home costs 2.0 years of the median household income of the Lake Charles, LA metro area ($67K).
How much does a house cost in Jennings?
About $140K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 3.7% in a year. The Louisiana typical home is $214K.
What salary do you need to live in Jennings?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $32,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $760 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $37,000.
How much is rent in Jennings?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $920 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $881 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Jennings?
The median bill is $281 a year, 0.21% of the median home value (Louisiana: $1,180, 0.55%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Jennings going up?
Yes: up 3.7% in the past year and -3.5% in five years, against 1.2% across Louisiana (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Jennings buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.