City limitsPlace boundary
Curated city comparison

New OrleansBaton Rouge

Louisiana's largest city alternatives with materially different gross-yield, housing-stock and local-demand evidence.

New Orleans, LA city briefBaton Rouge, LA city brief
New Orleans, LA cityscape
Baton Rouge, LA cityscape
Decision memo

The trade-off before property underwriting

The interpretation uses direct city records only. County and metro averages are not substituted into this comparison.

New Orleans better fits cash-flow screening: its 8.07% gross yield exceeds Baton Rouge’s 7.12%, while Zillow rent is $1,664 versus $1,383. That advantage is only a first-pass signal because gross yield excludes operating and capital costs. Underwriting should next test achievable unit rent, insurance, taxes, vacancy, repairs and financing for each address.

Entry affordability depends on the lens. Baton Rouge has the lower Zillow value at $233,067 versus $247,590 in New Orleans, reducing the nominal acquisition hurdle. New Orleans, however, has the lower price-to-income measure at 4.37 versus 4.66. For renter pressure, Baton Rouge’s 52.21% renter share and 17.34% vacancy favor broader renter presence and tighter occupancy, while New Orleans shows greater rent burden at 59.80%.

Housing-stock fit depends on strategy. New Orleans has an older median build year of 1960, signaling greater need for property-level condition and capital-work review; Baton Rouge is 1976 and has more large multifamily stock. Local-demand evidence leans Baton Rouge because its overlapping-vintage population change was -0.61%, compared with -4.86% in New Orleans. Yet Baton Rouge’s 9.24% unemployment and 25.70% poverty warrant tenant-income and collections checks before advancing a property.

Direct city matrix

The same definition on both sides

“n/a” remains missing. Zillow indexes and ACS survey measures stay visibly separate.

Decision evidenceNew Orleans, LABaton Rouge, LA
Typical home valueZillow ZHVI · city$247,590$233,067
Observed market rentZillow ZORI · city$1,664$1,383
Gross yieldZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI · before costs8.1%7.1%
Price to household incomeZillow value ÷ ACS income4.37x4.66x
Annual rent to incomeZillow rent × 12 ÷ ACS income35.3%33.2%
Rent burdenACS renter households paying 30%+59.8%58.7%
Renter shareACS occupied housing48.8%52.2%
Vacancy rateACS all housing units20.3%17.3%
Population changebetween ACS vintages · not annualized▼ 4.9%▼ 0.6%
UnemploymentACS civilian labor force7.5%9.2%
Entry and income screen

Price, rent and yield do not tell the same story

Bars begin at zero within each measure. Gross yield remains a before-cost screen.

New OrleansBaton RougeTypical home valueZillow ZHVI · city$248k$233kObserved market rentZillow ZORI · monthly city index$2k$1kGross yieldZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI · before costs8.1%7.1%
Zillow city ZHVI and ZORI · 2026-06 / 2026-06
Price and rent history

Two city paths, each rebased to 100

Each panel keeps price and rent in its own city; no level is borrowed across geographies.

Five-year path

Price and rent, rebased to 100

ZHVI −11.4%ZORI +18.3%
11810389202120222023202420252026
Each series starts at 100 so their direction can be compared without pretending that a home value and a monthly rent share the same unit.
Five-year path

Price and rent, rebased to 100

ZHVI +12.6%ZORI +18.5%
11810795202120222023202420252026
Each series starts at 100 so their direction can be compared without pretending that a home value and a monthly rent share the same unit.
Fit by objective

There is no universal city winner

Five city questions remain separate so a yield lead cannot erase affordability or demand risk.

01
Cash-flow screenNew Orleans

New Orleans better fits cash-flow screening because its gross yield is 8.07%, compared with 7.12% in Baton Rouge. New Orleans also has higher Zillow rent at $1,664 versus $1,383, although its Zillow value is higher. This is not net return: verify property rent, concessions, vacancy, management, repairs, taxes, insurance, utilities, financing and capital work before treating the spread as durable.

02
Entry affordabilityDepends on the property

Baton Rouge offers the lower nominal Zillow entry value at $233,067, versus $247,590 in New Orleans. New Orleans nevertheless has the more favorable price-to-income measure, 4.37 compared with 4.66. The choice therefore depends on whether the constraint is purchase dollars or local-income alignment. Next, compare actual asking price, required rehabilitation, insurance and financing terms for candidate properties rather than using ACS median home value as an appraisal.

03
Renter pressureDepends on the property

Baton Rouge has the stronger occupancy-side signals: renters represent 52.21% of households and vacancy is 17.34%, while New Orleans records 48.82% and 20.32%. New Orleans shows slightly greater payment pressure, with 59.80% of renters burdened compared with 58.73% in Baton Rouge. Underwrite by submarket: confirm comparable-unit absorption, concessions, tenant qualifications and whether reported vacancy reflects investable neighborhoods or unusable stock.

04
Housing stockDepends on the property

Baton Rouge may better fit investors seeking newer or denser inventory: its median year built is 1976 and large multifamily share is 16.29%, versus 1960 and 11.81% in New Orleans. New Orleans may fit buyers specifically pursuing older, smaller-scale assets, but those require sharper condition diligence. For either city, inspect roof, structure, mechanical systems, deferred maintenance and code status before assigning rehabilitation or replacement reserves.

05
Local demand riskBaton Rouge

Baton Rouge better fits local-demand stability because population change across overlapping ACS vintages was -0.61%, versus -4.86% for New Orleans; this is not an annualized rate. The counterweight is household economic stress: Baton Rouge has 9.24% unemployment and 25.70% poverty, compared with 7.53% and 22.60% in New Orleans. Property review should test employer access, tenant-income depth, collections and turnover rather than relying on population direction alone.

Household pressure

Acquisition and renter affordability

New OrleansBaton RougePrice to incomeZillow value ÷ ACS household income4.4x4.7xRent to incomeAnnual Zillow rent ÷ ACS household income35.3%33.2%Rent-burdened householdsACS renters paying 30% or more59.8%58.7%
Zillow city indexes divided by direct ACS city household measures.
Housing system

Tenure, vacancy and structure

New OrleansBaton RougeRenter shareACS occupied housing48.8%52.2%Vacancy rateACS all housing units20.3%17.3%Single-family stockACS one-unit structures55.9%57.9%Large multifamily stockACS structures with 20+ units11.8%16.3%
ACS citywide housing characteristics; not rentable inventory or lease-up speed.
Underwriting boundary

What this city comparison cannot decide

City evidence narrows a search; it does not appraise, inspect or finance a property.

  1. 01

    Zillow city indexes describe market-level rent and value trends, while ACS rent and home-value measures describe surveyed housing. They answer different questions and should not be averaged or treated as interchangeable property appraisals.

  2. 02

    Gross yield excludes vacancy, management, repairs, taxes, insurance, utilities, financing and capital work. New Orleans’ older housing profile makes property inspections and realistic reserves especially important before interpreting its headline yield advantage.

  3. 03

    Population change compares overlapping ACS vintages and is not annualized. Citywide vacancy, renter share, unemployment and poverty can also conceal major neighborhood differences, so address-level comparables, tenant demand and insurability remain necessary.

Figure-level provenance

The direct sources behind both records

Release period and retrieval date remain separate. Open either city brief for its complete geography ledger.

Census ACS 5-year — city population, households and housingACS 2024 5-yearPulled 2026-07-29Census ACS 5-year — cities and communitiesACS 2024 5-yearPulled 2026-07-30Zillow ZHVI — city home valueszillow_zhvi_city.csvPulled 2026-07-29Zillow ZORI — city market rentszillow_zori_city.csvPulled 2026-07-29
New Orleans, LAOpen the complete city brief371,853 residents in the current ACS recordBaton Rouge, LAOpen the complete city brief222,771 residents in the current ACS recordProperty testStress-test the same assumptionsReplace city averages with an actual deal