New Orleans

Is New Orleans safe?

Safer than at any time in a generation, but still not a low-crime city. The New Orleans Police Department recorded 121 homicides in 2025, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, down sharply from the post-pandemic peak of 2022. By 25 June 2026 the count was 38, putting the city on pace for about 78, the fewest since 1969.

Even so, 121 killings in a city of about 360,000 people is roughly 33 per 100,000, twice Chicago's rate. Most of it happens far from the French Quarter. What visitors meet more often is theft, drunken trouble on Bourbon Street, dangerous roads and the weather. We score New Orleans 52.

The Bourbon Street attack

At about 3:15am on 1 January 2025, a man drove a rented pickup truck around a police barricade at Canal Street and down Bourbon Street through New Year's crowds, killing 14 people and injuring dozens. He was killed in a shootout with police. The FBI said an Islamic State flag was on the truck and weapons and a possible explosive device were inside, and investigated the attack as terrorism.

The attack exposed gaps in the street's vehicle barriers, which were being replaced at the time. Security at Mardi Gras, the Sugar Bowl and other big events has been much heavier since. It is a reminder that big crowds carry their own risks, but it does not change the odds on an ordinary night much. We reflect it in the violent crime score.

Where crime happens

The 2026 drop is real, but not every crime is falling. NOPD data reported by The Times-Picayune show non-fatal shootings down 16% in the first half of the year, while armed robberies rose from 109 to 115 and carjackings from 38 to 48, partly because of a scheme by teenagers targeting ride-share drivers. Killings cluster in residential areas: Little Woods in New Orleans East had the most in the paper's analysis, ahead of Central City, Mid-City, the St. Claude area and Tremé.

For visitors, the common problems are smaller:

• Bourbon Street and Frenchmen Street: pickpockets in crowds, spiked or stolen drinks, and fights after midnight.
• Street hustles: the old "I bet I can tell you where you got your shoes" line ends with a demand for cash. Keep walking.
• Cars: break-ins in the French Quarter, the Marigny and outside hotels. Leave nothing in sight, or skip the car altogether.

Getting around at night

The French Quarter, the Warehouse District, the Marigny's Frenchmen Street and Magazine Street are busy and generally safe in the evening. Risk rises quickly a few blocks away, where streets are dark and empty. Gallup's 2025 survey found that 71% of Americans feel safe walking alone at night where they live, but only 58% of women, one of the widest gender gaps in the world. Use a ride app or taxi between neighbourhoods after dark, rather than walking through Tremé, Central City or the edge of the Quarter towards Rampart Street.

The roads and the heat

New Orleans' roads are more dangerous than its street crime suggests. NOPD counted 52 traffic deaths in the city in 2025 up to 29 November, about 15 per 100,000 people, and 24 of the fatal crashes involved a pedestrian. That rate is about four times Chicago's. Drunk driving is common: NOPD made 328 drink-driving arrests in 2025 to early December, up 18%. The first half of 2026 was better, with 19 traffic deaths against 28 a year earlier. Cross at signals, watch for drivers turning across you, and do not drive after drinking in a city built around drinking.

The air is fairly clean. The EPA monitor by the I-610 averaged 7.5 µg/m³ of fine particlesPM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary over 2023 to 2025, within the US standard. Heat is the bigger health risk: from June to September, high temperatures and heavy humidity make long walks and outdoor parades draining. Carry water and use shade and air-conditioned breaks.

Hurricanes and floods

Much of New Orleans sits below sea level, inside a ring of levees, floodwalls and pumps rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The system has held since, but storms still hit hard. When Hurricane Ida came ashore in August 2021, the National Hurricane Center measured a storm surge of 6 to 8 feet in parts of eastern Orleans Parish outside the defences, and wind knocked out power across the metro area for days. Even heavy summer downpours can flood streets and cars within an hour.

The Atlantic season runs from June to November. Follow the National Hurricane Center and city alerts, and leave early if an evacuation is called; the city has no quick way out once roads are clogged.

How to stay safe in New Orleans

• Stay in the French Quarter, the Warehouse District, the Garden District or Uptown, and use a ride app between them at night.
• On Bourbon Street, carry one card and your phone in a front pocket, and never leave a drink.
• Avoid driving: parking is scarce, break-ins common and the roads dangerous.
• In hurricane season, buy insurance that covers storm disruption and check forecasts before you fly.

Our United States page covers healthcare costs and entry rules for the whole country. For a coastal city with a similar storm risk but much less violent crime, see Miami.

How we scored it

Health and environment (78) is the strongest factor, thanks to clean air and good trauma care. Violent crime (38) is the weakest: killings have fallen sharply but remain far above other US cities we cover, and we deduct for the 2025 attack. Traffic safety and natural hazards (42 each) reflect deadly roads and a low-lying city in the path of Gulf hurricanes. If 2026 ends near its current pace, violent crime will rise.