Lower 9th Ward is a neighborhood of 5,260 residents in New Orleans, about 4 miles east of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans safe?
Crime in Lower 9th Ward is high, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of F. Most US neighborhoods have far less: 99% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Lower 9th Ward. Violent crime grades F and property crime D-. New Orleans as a whole grades F. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Lower 9th Ward run from B- to F, so check the map below.
F
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
1% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Lower 9th Ward as a whole, and 99% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Lower 9th Ward scores 0.
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 Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans, LA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans, 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 Lower 9th Ward
Car thefts and aggravated assaults both run high. In Lower 9th Ward, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 17.3 car thefts and 9.2 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 2.6 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Lower 9th Ward
CrimeGrade™ estimates Lower 9th Ward has about 95 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and 23% more than New Orleans as a whole.
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 Lower 9th Ward, about 30% of everything reported.
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.
How Lower 9th Ward compares with nearby neighborhoods
Lower 9th Ward has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods. Old Aurora and French Quarter have the least crime nearby.
Empty homes, density and walkability in Lower 9th Ward
Two things set Lower 9th Ward apart: it has 16.5% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 5% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with many empty homes 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.16.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 96% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.5% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 95% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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.C (38 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 55% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.8 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 94% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 Lower 9th Ward
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Lower 9th Ward about $7,625 a year per household, more than triple 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 $77 million a year, or $14,726 per resident.
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 Lower 9th Ward 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. Lower 9th Ward is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans, LA average a SchoolGrade of C: 29% of students test proficient, against 22% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Lower 9th Ward on SchoolGrade
