Donaldsonville is a city of 8,960 in Ascension Parish, about 25 miles southeast of downtown Baton Rouge · Updated November 2026
Is Donaldsonville, LA safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B, Donaldsonville has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 73% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, B+ against B-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Donaldsonville run from A to D+, so check the map below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 652 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
27% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Donaldsonville as a whole, and 73% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Donaldsonville scores 652.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Donaldsonville, LA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Donaldsonville, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Donaldsonville
Aggravated assaults run high for a B-graded city. Donaldsonville has 7.3 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a B-graded US city, the figure is 3.1.
Thefts from cars happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Donaldsonville, 75% of reported thefts from cars happen at homes, against 34% nationally.
Crime rates and types in Donaldsonville
CrimeGrade™ estimates Donaldsonville has about 79 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about double the rate for the US as a whole and 71% more than Louisiana.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Assault is the most common crime in Donaldsonville, about 45% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Donaldsonville
The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office polices Donaldsonville, and these figures cover every place it serves, 2022 to 2024.
In Donaldsonville, 72% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (72%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (70%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (75%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Vandalism
Homes (61%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Homes (35%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (55%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Donaldsonville compares with nearby cities
Donaldsonville has less crime than 1 of its 2 nearest cities; only Belle Rose has less.
Empty homes, parking lots and walkability in Donaldsonville
Two things set Donaldsonville apart: it has 15.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 4.1 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.15.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 97% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.4.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 95% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 67% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (23 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 68% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.72 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 88% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Donaldsonville: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.7% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 68% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Donaldsonville
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Donaldsonville about $2,274 a year per household, 89% more than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $25 million a year, or $2,833 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.2 million
$134
Rape
$310,000
$35
Robbery
$250,000
$28
Assault
$3.7 million
$412
Burglary
$480,000
$53
Theft
$1.0 million
$113
Vehicle theft
$310,000
$35
Arson
$74,000
$8
Vandalism
$710,000
$79
Total
$8.0 million
$897
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Donaldsonville means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Donaldsonville, LA average a SchoolGrade of D: 25% of students test proficient, against 19% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Donaldsonville on SchoolGrade
