Living in St. Rose, Louisiana: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.4% below the U.S. average in the New Orleans-Metairie metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Destrehan High School, about 4 miles away.
A hospital close byOchsner Medical Center-Kenner in Kenner, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 23 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means St. Rose meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

St. Rose runs into the built-up area around New Orleans (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $238,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 4.4%St. Charles Parish, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $856 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $74,075U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $2,085 a yearLouisiana: $1,180
Homes built before 1940: 2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 92.6U.S. average = 100 (the New Orleans-Metairie metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 4.4% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New Orleans-Metairie metro area, not St. Rose alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey: 7,644The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 39.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 25%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%U.S.: 6%
College students: 6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (18%); construction (13%); professional and business services (12%)
Unemployment rate: 9%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 25 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 8%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Ochsner Medical Center-Kenner, Kenner, LA, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in St. Rose, run by St. Charles Parish. The nearest public high school is Destrehan High School, about 4 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Louisiana's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 94%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 46°F
July average high: 91°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 85 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 5 a year
Rain and melted snow: 63.4 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 5 feet

Weather station: New Orleans Intl Ap (4 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Ochsner Medical Center-KennerEmergency room5

Kenner, LACity of 65,0005

New Orleans, LAMetro of 1 million23

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Ochsner Medical Center-Kenner, Kenner, New Orleans.

St. Charles Parish is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve10 miles
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park14 miles

Read about St. Rose's history on Wikipedia.

Know St. Rose?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Destrehan, LA11,600 people, 3 miles
Waggaman, LA11,300 people, 5 miles
River Ridge, LA13,300 people, 5 miles
Luling, LA14,000 people, 5 miles
Norco, LA2,800 people, 6 miles
Harahan, LA8,900 people, 7 miles

Smaller places

Ama, LA (unincorporated)1,483 people, 2 miles
New Sarpy, LA (unincorporated)1,247 people, 5 miles
Boutte, LA (unincorporated)2,027 people, 7 miles
Taft, LA (unincorporated)112 people, 9 miles
Montz, LA (unincorporated)2,074 people, 10 miles
Paradis, LA (unincorporated)552 people, 10 miles
Killona, LA (unincorporated)188 people, 11 miles
Bayou Gauche, LA (unincorporated)1,908 people, 13 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.