AARP’s Great Places to Live: Harahan, Louisiana

New Orleans’ neighbor is a quieter, more laid-back enclave

Renée Bacher,

AARP

Published November 19, 2025

AARP’s Great Places to Live is a list of 10 communities that have many of the qualities older people value: good health care, social opportunities, a nice climate, ease in getting around, a thriving job market and rank highly on AARP's Livability Index (learn more about the Livability Index here, including how your community ranks). One city that made the list: Harahan, Louisiana. To see more Great Places to Live, click here.

Population: 9,043
AARP Livability Index score: 55
Average monthly housing cost: $1,000
Perfect-weather days*: 144 per year

Anyone who has been to New Orleans can tell you about the world-class brass bands playing in the streets, daiquiris on the go and soft-shell crab po’boys. But most people don’t know about the charms offered by Harahan, its quiet neighbor, only about a 10-minute drive away.

Why live in Harahan instead of the Big Easy? In this suburb, you can still enjoy Louisiana’s gastronomic and rhythmic culture, but it’s unlikely you’ll have to deal with drunk partyers in the Airbnb next door. Harahan was also ranked the second safest city in Louisiana in 2025 by the online safety resource company SafeWise. In fact, many residents, including Harahan Mayor Tim Baudier, claim they don’t lock their doors. “I think the community and the safeness of the city of Harahan is really appealing to everyone,” he says.

Affordability

Like many places in America, Harahan has seen property values increase in recent years, but taxes remain lower even as the city provides its own police and fire departments, Baudier says. He adds that through recent infrastructure improvements, sewer user fees in the city should also soon decrease. Sharon Jallans, 63, a lifelong resident of Harahan, says her water bills are lower here than for her friends outside Harahan, and she finds groceries and restaurants here less expensive than in New Orleans.

Health care

Ochsner Medical Center-New Orleans, in nearby Jefferson, has been ranked the best hospital in Louisiana for the past 14 years by U.S. News & World Report. Six of the medical center’s specialties, including geriatrics, have ranked in the nation’s top 10 percent of all hospitals. Ochsner’s Centers of Excellence programs include a heart and vascular institute, a neuroscience institute and orthopedic and cancer services. And Jefferson is an easy cab ride away. Jallans says she has had the same doctor at Ochsner for two decades, and there’s an Ochsner Urgent Care five minutes from her home.

Culture

Proximity to New Orleans means you can easily take a dinner jazz cruise up the Mississippi on the Creole Queen, catch a play or a concert at the Saenger Theatre or visit the National WWII Museum.

But if you don’t feel like venturing into the big city, there’s plenty of fun to be had in and around Harahan. Members of the Paradise Manor Community Club gather to swim, grill or hang out and watch New Orleans Saints games on TV. Bowling leagues are big at Colonial Lanes, open most days from 8 a.m. until midnight. And the nearby open-air Elmwood Shopping Center offers more than 1 million square feet of retail therapy, with 84 stores, including many favorite national chains. Check out the gigantic Ochsner Fitness Center, affiliated with the hospital and arguably one of the best facilities in the New Orleans area for older people, with its impressive indoor/outdoor pools and pickleball courts.

Getting around

During the depths of the COVID pandemic, Harahan invested in sidewalks, making it an easy place to get around on foot. Apart from rush-hour traffic in and out of New Orleans, it’s easy to get around by car in Harahan, and bus fare is $1.25, or 75 cents for riders 65 and older. Harahan is also just a 15-minute drive from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, the state’s largest.

Climate

There’s no way around it: South Louisiana’s summers are like a steam bath that can stretch from mid-May through mid-October, with temperatures in the mid- to high 90s and often high humidity. “I’m used to it,” Jallans says, “but it’s hot as hell sometimes. Still, I wouldn’t want to live anyplace else.” November through March is the reward for surviving Harahan summers, with mostly cool and comfortable sunny days and temps ranging from the 40s to the 80s.

But then there’s hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 to November 30 and can wreak havoc on homeowners’ insurance rates. The good news for Harahan is that most of its streets are located in flood zone X, which is generally considered well protected by the Mississippi River levee from flooding.

Job market

The Walmart Supercenter is a popular employment spot for retirees, and there are always job opportunities in the many restaurants in the area and at the retail stores in the Elmwood Shopping Center.

Going-out Guide

Sunny-day location: La Salle Park, just north of Harahan in Metairie. Stroll the walking paths, and in the preseason get free tickets to watch the Saints’ training camp nearby.

Weekday evening hangout: Seither’s Seafood. Pick up some fried shrimp or oyster po’boys and sit at the picnic tables with pretty red umbrellas. Or head to the top of the levee with your sandwiches, sit on a bench and watch the ships go by as the sun sets.

Where to take visitors first: Droopy’s Snowballs. People drive here from all over the state for a snowball stuffed with ice cream or doused in sweetened, condensed milk. Don’t mind the line. It’s worth the wait.

AARP initiatives

From food aid for those in need to document-shredding events to prevent fraud, learn more about AARP initiatives, volunteer opportunities and news from the AARP Louisiana office.

*What's a perfect weather day? High temperature between 60 and 85 degrees, with less than 1 millimeter of rain. Source: Yahoo News analysis of federal data

Renée Bacher is a contributing writer who covers health, pets and lifestyle. She has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine and Parade.

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