Living in Chalmette, LA
St. Bernard Parish
Chalmette is a real, unincorporated census-designated place (2020 Census population 21,562) and the parish seat of St. Bernard Parish, sitting directly adjacent to Orleans Parish approximately 8 miles from downtown New Orleans. Chalmette carries a real, honestly-disclosed, defining history: St. Bernard Parish was one of the areas hit HARDEST by Hurricane Katrina's 2005 levee failures -- nearly the entire parish flooded, and the parish's overall population remains at roughly two-thirds of its pre-Katrina level twenty years later -- alongside a real, genuine, ongoing rebuilding story (restored refinery operations, a new St. Bernard Parish Hospital, new apartments, and the parish's own standing as one of Louisiana's fastest-growing communities in more recent years). Chalmette is also the real, genuine site of the Chalmette Battlefield, where the 1815 Battle of New Orleans -- one of the last great battles of the War of 1812 -- was fought, a distinct historical identity documented within the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. Housing runs genuinely affordable ($215,175-$249,000 depending on the source), and property tax runs genuinely low (~0.37%-0.39%, among the lowest documented in this project) -- but that low property tax does NOT offset St. Bernard Parish's real, severely elevated flood/homeowners-insurance exposure, specifically cited among Louisiana's highest-rate parishes. Domino Sugar Chalmette Refinery and Chalmette Refining anchor real, substantial local industrial employment. Louisiana's real 2024-reform flat 3% state income tax and $75,000 homestead exemption both apply here as statewide.
Explore Chalmette in depth
- Moving to Chalmette: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Chalmette
- Housing Market in Chalmette
- Buying a Home in Chalmette
- Renting in Chalmette
- Taxes in Chalmette
- Homeowners Insurance & Natural Hazard Costs in Chalmette
- Climate & Weather in Chalmette
- Jobs & Economy in Chalmette
- Schools in Chalmette
- Crime & Safety in Chalmette
- Healthcare in Chalmette
- Traffic & Transportation in Chalmette
- Best Areas to Live in Chalmette
- Pros and Cons of Living in Chalmette
- Retiring in Chalmette
- Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Chalmette
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the St. Bernard Parish level this session. Louisiana's top state income tax rate is 3.00%. See the Louisiana hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Chalmette-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
Genuinely affordable housing ($215,175-$249,000) and among the lowest property tax rates (~0.37%-0.39%) documented in this project; real, substantial industrial employment anchors (Domino Sugar Chalmette Refinery, Chalmette Refining); a real, genuine post-Katrina rebuilding story including a new hospital and new apartments; a distinct, real War of 1812 historical identity at the Chalmette Battlefield; and short, practical proximity (~8 miles) to downtown New Orleans.
Cons
Real, severely elevated flood/homeowners-insurance exposure -- St. Bernard Parish was specifically cited among Louisiana's highest-rate parishes for this cost, which the low property tax does NOT offset; a real, honestly-disclosed history of catastrophic Katrina flooding across nearly the entire parish; a crime rate one source cited as among the higher rates in America, though a separate overall grade ran B-; a genuinely car-dependent commute; and St. Bernard Parish's own overall population still running below its pre-Katrina level twenty years later.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits affordability-focused buyers and first-time homebuyers drawn to genuinely low home prices and property tax, real industrial-sector employment, and short proximity to downtown New Orleans, who are prepared to budget honestly for elevated flood-insurance costs.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for buyers assuming Louisiana's genuinely low property tax means low overall housing costs -- St. Bernard Parish's real, elevated flood-insurance exposure can offset that savings substantially; anyone unwilling to research current flood-zone status and insurance requirements directly given the parish's real, documented Katrina history; and anyone needing light-rail or streetcar access, given Chalmette's genuinely car-dependent commute.
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