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St. Bernard Parish, LA

Rent vs Own in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana

Owning the median home in St. Bernard Parish clears the monthly bar: about $1,163/mo versus HUD's $1,331/mo 2-bedroom rent. The stack below shows which line items create that edge. Owner-occupied homes: 11,377.

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Buying is cheaper in St. Bernard Parish

Owning runs about $1,163/mo here, under $1,331/mo to rent a comparable 2-bedroom. That is a $168/mo difference.

Based on 20% down, 6.5% rate, 30-year mortgage. Adjust below.

What This Data Tells Us About Renting vs Owning in St. Bernard Parish

Primary driver

HUD moved the rent benchmark down

HUD cut its 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent for St. Bernard Parish from $1,478/mo in FY2025 to $1,331/mo in FY2026: it decreased by $147/mo (-9.9%). A falling benchmark narrows the case for buying here, and it usually reflects HUD re-estimating the local market rather than existing rents being cut.

Decision signal 2

Price and income sit in the middle band

Median household income is $58,651, for a 3.5x home-price-to-income ratio in the middle of the national distribution; property tax takes 1.6% of that income. Small changes in down payment or rate move this county across the rent-vs-own line more than they would in a high-ratio market.

Decision signal 3

Owning clears the monthly bar here

St. Bernard Parish's median home ($202,500) carries $961/yr in property tax at 0.47%. Under a 20% down, 6.5%, 30-year stack the all-in ownership bill is about $1,163/mo, which undercuts HUD's $1,331/mo 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent by roughly $168/mo before maintenance, HOA, or closing costs.

Decision signal 4

The county sits near the state middle

Using the assumptions above, St. Bernard Parish ranks 30 of 64 Louisiana counties for buy-vs-rent value (rank 1 = the best relative deal for buying). It sits ahead of 34 other Louisiana counties on this measure.

Methodology & disclaimer

This calculator is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Property tax figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates and rent figures come from HUD Fair Market Rents; both describe area medians, not individual transactions. Insurance is estimated at 0.35% of home value annually and closing costs, maintenance, HOA, and PMI are not included. Consult a licensed mortgage, tax, or real-estate professional before making a buy-or-rent decision based on these numbers.

Monthly Cost Breakdown

Estimated Monthly Ownership
$1,163
Mortgage (P&I) $1,024
Property Tax $80
Insurance (est.) $59
Monthly Rent (2-BR FMR)
$1,331
Studio$964
1-Bedroom$1,113
2-Bedroom$1,331
3-Bedroom$1,701
4-Bedroom$1,996

Adjust Your Scenario

Affordability Context

Median Household Income
$58,651
$4,888/mo
Home Price / Income
3.5x
Moderate (3-5x)
Tax-to-Income Ratio
1.6%
National benchmark: 2-4%

Who actually pays it here

In St. Bernard Parish, once the mortgage ends staying put is close to free: the largest cluster of debt-free households faces a yearly charge under $800, so insurance and upkeep, not the tax office, set what the home costs to keep.

St. Bernard Parish matches the national pattern: six-figure earners between $100,000 and $200,000 account for more of these write-offs than any other local group.

Against that holding-cost profile, the monthly ownership stack already undercuts HUD rent here, so the long-run tax bill is an ownership feature more than a reason to keep renting.

Bill bands are Census ACS counts of owner-occupied homes without a mortgage. Income brackets are IRS Statistics of Income county data for tax year 2022, counted over FILERS reporting real-estate taxes on Schedule A, which is a smaller group than homeowners: most filers take the standard deduction.

Nearby Counties

Jefferson Parish
Home: $251,400 Tax: $1,312/yr
East Baton Rouge Parish
Home: $248,800 Tax: $1,656/yr
St. Tammany Parish
Home: $284,000 Tax: $2,028/yr
Orleans Parish
Home: $315,700 Tax: $2,606/yr
Lafayette Parish
Home: $242,900 Tax: $1,380/yr
Caddo Parish
Home: $175,700 Tax: $1,085/yr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana? ▼
On the standard 20%-down / 6.5% stack, owning the median St. Bernard Parish home undercuts HUD's 2-bedroom rent by about $168/mo. Change the down payment, rate, or time horizon in the calculator and that gap can flip - owning also builds equity that rent never does.
What is the average rent in St. Bernard Parish? ▼
HUD prices a 2-bedroom unit at $1,331/mo here. Sizing up matters: going from a studio to a 4-bedroom adds about $1,032/mo, so the per-bedroom jump is worth checking against your actual space needs before assuming the 2-BR figure applies to your situation.
How much house can you afford in St. Bernard Parish? ▼
On the common 3x-income guideline, a $58,651 household here can afford up to $175,953 -- about $26,547 short of this county's $202,500 median home. That gap is typically closed with a larger down payment, dual incomes, or a longer search outside the median price band.
What is the median home price in St. Bernard Parish? ▼
$202,500, per the Census Bureau's ACS 5-Year Estimates. The property tax on that value works out to roughly 0.47% a year, in line with typical rates for the area.
Is rent going up or down in St. Bernard Parish? ▼
HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent figure has fallen 9.9% between the FY2025 and FY2026 publications, the two most recent years tracked here.
How does St. Bernard Parish compare to other Louisiana counties for renting vs buying? ▼
Out of 64 Louisiana counties ranked here on buy-vs-rent value, St. Bernard Parish lands at spot 30, roughly in the middle of the pack statewide. The <a href="/states/louisiana">Louisiana state page</a> lists every peer county's tax bill beside this one.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey). See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPropertyTax

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Government Finances State and local property tax revenue by jurisdiction · 2025

Verify with HUD →