In short
The median value of owner-occupied homes is $223,200 in Louisiana and $305,100 in the city of New Orleans, against $360,600 nationwide (Census ACS 2024). On the FHFA index, Louisiana prices up 1.6% and New Orleans–Metairie prices down 0.5% from Q2 2025 to Q2 2026.
What it costs: median value in 2024
| Area | Median value, 2024 | Margin of error (90%) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $360,600 | ±$618 |
| Louisiana | $223,200 | ±$2,575 |
| New Orleans–Metairie metro area | $267,900 | ±$5,382 |
| Orleans Parish | $305,100 | ±$17,943 |
| City of New Orleans | $305,100 | ±$17,943 |
Source: Census ACS 2024, table B25077; owners’ own estimates, not sale prices.
Four points stand out:
- The Louisiana median is $137,400 below the national median.
- The city of New Orleans sits $81,900 above the Louisiana median, $37,200 above the metro median and $55,500 below the national median. The suburbs pull the metro figure down, not up.
- Orleans Parish and the city of New Orleans show identical results because the Census Bureau reports the same value for both.
- The margin of error for the city (±$17,943) is much wider than for the state, because the sample is smaller. The true city median is very likely between about $287,000 and $323,000.
How prices have moved: the FHFA index
| Area | 1-year change (Q2 2025 to Q2 2026) | 5-year change (Q2 2021 to Q2 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | +2.1% | +33.4% |
| Louisiana | +1.6% | +16.3% |
| New Orleans–Metairie metro area | −0.5% | +7.9% |
Source: FHFA HPI, purchase-only, Q2 2026 (release of August 25, 2026); changes by Payotte.
Louisiana prices rose a little less than the nation’s over the past year, and the New Orleans area slipped slightly. Over five years, the gap is wide: the national index gained 33.4%, Louisiana 16.3% and the New Orleans–Metairie area 7.9%.
A worked example
Take a New Orleans-area home worth $250,000 in the second quarter of 2021. Tracking the New Orleans–Metairie index exactly, it would have been worth about $269,700 in the second quarter of 2026 (+7.9%). Over the last year alone, it would have lost about $1,400 (−0.5%). A single home can differ widely from the index.
How to use these figures when buying
Related: Louisiana closing costs guide, buying a home in New Orleans and Louisiana first-time buyer programs.
Method and dataset
ACS median value. ACS 1-Year 2024, table B25077. Geographies: United States (0100000US), Louisiana (0400000US22), New Orleans–Metairie, LA metro area (310M700US35380), Orleans Parish (0500000US22071), New Orleans city (1600000US2255000). Read through the data.census.gov API on October 13, 2026.
FHFA index. FHFA HPI (purchase-only, seasonally adjusted), state series (Louisiana), metro series (New Orleans–Metairie, LA, CBSA 35380) and U.S. series. Index values used: Louisiana 361.51 (Q2 2025), 315.83 (Q2 2021) and 367.42 (Q2 2026); New Orleans–Metairie 429.44, 396.00 and 427.14; United States 426.58, 326.58 and 435.69.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median home value in Louisiana?
Louisiana’s 2024 ACS median home value is $223,200 (±$2,575), against $360,600 for the nation: owners’ own estimates, not sale prices.
What is the median home value in New Orleans?
For the city of New Orleans, the 2024 ACS median value is $305,100 (±$17,943). The New Orleans–Metairie metro area is at $267,900. The Census Bureau reports the same figure for Orleans Parish.
Are Louisiana home prices going up or down?
FHFA’s purchase-only index shows Louisiana prices rose 1.6% over the year to Q2 2026, and the New Orleans–Metairie area fell 0.5%. Over five years, they rose 16.3% and 7.9%.
How Louisiana compares with the other States
With a median of $223,200, Louisiana is 46th of 50, in the bottom ten, and sits 38% under the national $360,600.
The States closest in median value are Oklahoma ($222,100) and Kentucky ($226,000). The range runs from $170,800 in West Virginia to $875,900 in Hawaii; Louisiana is $116,300 below the middle of that ranking (Wyoming).
On the FHFA index, Louisiana prices rose 1.6% over the year to the second quarter of 2026, which places the State 34th of 50, 0.5 points behind the national +2.1%. Over five years the gain is +16.3% (48th of 50; nation +33.4%).
Louisiana combines a median among the lowest in the country with a slower-than-most price trend over the past year.
Over five years, Louisiana's +16.3% annualises to +3.1% a year (nation +5.9%). The latest year (+1.6%) is 1.5 points under that average, a slower pace than the five-year average.
New Orleans, the main city, has a median of $305,100, 31st of the 49 main cities Payotte covers. That is 37% above the Louisiana median, a premium that ranks 8th of 49.
The one-year FHFA change runs from -1.2% in New Mexico to +8.3% in Alaska. Louisiana (+1.6%) is 6.7 points below the top and 2.8 above the bottom; Georgia (+1.9%) and Oklahoma (+2%) are the nearest to it.
For scale, 20% of the Louisiana median is $44,640, against $72,120 at the national median.
Compare with the other states: Median home price by state.
More Louisiana guides
- Closing costs in Louisiana: what buyers and sellers pay
- Real estate transfer tax in Louisiana and New Orleans
- Louisiana property tax: 10% assessment and homestead exemption
- Seller disclosure requirements in Louisiana
- Do you need an attorney or notary to close in Louisiana?
- Foreclosure process in Louisiana: executory process explained
- First-time home buyer programs in Louisiana: LHC and New Orleans
- How to verify a real estate license in Louisiana
- Louisiana community property and buying a home as a couple
- Hurricanes, flood and home insurance in Louisiana
Sources
- Census Bureau, ACS 1-Year 2024, table B25077 (consulted October 13, 2026)
- Census Bureau, 2025 ACS release schedule (consulted October 13, 2026)
- FHFA news release, August 25, 2026 (consulted October 13, 2026)
- FHFA HPI datasets (quarterly, purchase-only) (consulted October 13, 2026)