Census-designated place · St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana

Chalmette, Louisiana

Chalmette is a census-designated place in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, part of the New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro area. It has 22,616 residents. Chalmette, Louisiana has a quality-of-life score of 5 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,875 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Louisiana it ranks #153 of 262 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), pharmacies (high) and comfortable days (high). It ranks worst on preventable hospital stays (high), dental care shortage (high) and drug overdose deaths (high).

5Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,875 of 15,651 cities and towns
Louisiana: #153 of 262 in LA
Population: 22,616 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 3,152.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 2214135

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety7#14,467/15,637
Economy6#14,678/15,631
Housing20#12,047/14,977
Health6#14,599/15,609
Healthcare18#12,887/15,650
Environment45#8,550/15,453
Education9#14,163/15,649
Infrastructure20#12,526/15,650
Community1#15,488/15,651
Leisure & amenities78#3,420/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Chalmette, Louisiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “St. Bernard Parish value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Effective property tax rate · low0.32%
96/100Louisiana 0.55%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Pharmacies · high2.8 /10k
95/100Louisiana 2.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSt. Bernard Parish value
Comfortable days · high34.0%
93/100Louisiana 29.3%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSt. Bernard Parish value
Distance to an emergency room · low3.0 mi
93/100Louisiana 5.4 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSt. Bernard Parish value
Restaurants and bars · high12.7 /10k
90/100Louisiana 11.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSt. Bernard Parish value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Louisiana 1United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Bernard Parish value

Weaknesses

Preventable hospital stays · high5,343 /100k
1/100Louisiana 3,516 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Bernard Parish value
Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100Louisiana 13.9United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSt. Bernard Parish value
Drug overdose deaths · high47.2 /100k
2/100Louisiana 25.5 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSt. Bernard Parish value
Child poverty rate · high32.0%
2/100Louisiana 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Food environment index · low5.8
3/100Louisiana 4.8United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Bernard Parish value
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Louisiana 15.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSt. Bernard Parish value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
23,851 (2015-2019) → 22,616 (2020-2024)
−5.2%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.6% (2015-2019) → 88.8% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$43,976 (2015-2019) → $54,904 (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateWorsening
27.3% (2015-2019) → 32.0% (2020-2024)
+4.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
37.0% (2015-2019) → 33.0% (2020-2024)
−4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
60.4% (2015-2019) → 57.3% (2020-2024)
−3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Chalmette, Louisiana improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Uninsured−3 points14.7% → 11.7%
Broadband+10 points78.6% → 88.8%
Household income+25%$43,976 → $54,904

Declined1

Inequality+0.0550.439 → 0.494

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Chalmette, Louisiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.6 min2015-2019	29.3 min2020-2024	+1.7 min	Within the margin of error	30%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.5%2015-2019	13.6%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Broadband subscriptions	78.6%2015-2019	88.8%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	60%
Child poverty rate	27.3%2015-2019	32.0%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Effective property tax rate	0.43%2015-2019	0.32%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	37%
High school diploma or higher	80.6%2015-2019	83.5%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Home price to income ratio	3.5×2015-2019	3.9×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	52%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4392015-2019	0.4942020-2024	+0.055	Declined	14%
Median household income	$43,9762015-2019	$54,9042020-2024	+25%	Improved	44%
Poverty rate	22.4%2015-2019	24.9%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Rent as share of income	37.0%2015-2019	33.0%2020-2024	−4 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Rent-burdened households	60.4%2015-2019	57.3%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Unemployment rate	10.9%2015-2019	9.0%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.7%2015-2019	11.7%2020-2024	−3 points	Improved	76%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Chalmette, Louisiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Chalmette, Louisiana in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Chalmette, Louisiana itself moved −0.2 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

22,616 residents (±1,017)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

8,304 households (±379)

Chalmette, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $25k23%1,914
$25k–50k22%1,835
$50k–75k16%1,302

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

8,304 households (±379)

Chalmette, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Own61%5,078
Rent39%3,226

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Rent (−5.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

9,427 workers (±699)

Chalmette, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Drive alone75%7,103
Carpool11%1,054
Public transit1.1%†103

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the New Orleans-Metairie, LA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of St. Bernard Parish, the county holding most of Chalmette's residents.

St. Bernard Parish has 705 employer establishments, 157 for every 10,000 residents (0.63× the US rate of 248; 0.66× Louisiana's), with 8,913 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,126. The Census Bureau also counts 4,540 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 705; 4,540 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 157; US 248 · Louisiana 236
Paid employees: 8,913
Average annual pay: $54,126; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of St. Bernard Parish by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	81	18	0.98×About typical	1,474	$16,101	44
Specialty trade contractors	64	14.2	0.92×About typical	522	$62,416	339
Building equipment contractors	43	9.6	1.59×More than typical	419	$65,933	82
Limited-service restaurants	39	8.7	1.08×About typical	1,019	$14,415	11
Ambulatory health care services	35	7.8	0.37×Fewer than typical	287	$46,728	142
Full-service restaurants	33	7.3	0.96×About typical	383	$19,830	18
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	25	5.6	1.68×More than typical	150	$50,180	46
Gasoline stations	23	5.1	1.58×More than typical	163	$27,816	5
Construction of buildings	22	4.9	0.65×Fewer than typical	236	$66,225	216
Grocery and convenience stores	18	4	1.35×More than typical	411	$27,516	16
Legal services	18	4	0.74×Fewer than typical	62	$58,097	30
Religious organizations	18	4	0.72×Fewer than typical	120	$23,133	—

Rank places for an industry Open St. Bernard Parish

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 44,963 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1.5M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Chalmette, Louisiana: $66.30 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.5M; +331% vs FY2025
Per resident: $66.30; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 34%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$970.3K65%
Department of the Army$506.6K34%
Federal Aviation Administration$25.6K1.7%
Agricultural Research Service$7,5400.5%
Defense Logistics Agency$2090.0%

Top recipients

CARTRIDGE ACTUATED DEVICES INC$970.3K65%
OLD ARABI CAFE, LLC$506.6K34%
CHICKASAW STRATEGIC POINTE, LLC$25.6K1.7%
RIVER HEALTHCARE, INC.$7,5400.5%
NORWOOD SOLUTIONS LLC$2090.0%

Spending by fiscal year

664.3KFY2017
67.1KFY2018
97.9KFY2019
1MFY2020
324.1KFY2021
185.1KFY2022
4.3MFY2023
-458.3KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Other chemical product and preparation manufacturing · 3259$970.3K65%
Special food services · 7223$506.6K34%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$25.6K1.7%
Offices of physicians · 6211$7,5400.5%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$85.200.0%
Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Chalmette, Louisiana

1356012946889 TH01 IGNITER, MK288 MOD 1$2.5M
CARTRIDGE ACTUATED DEVICES INC· St. Bernard Parish, LA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· May 18, 2026 – May 18, 2026· N0010426CK075
61ST BREAKFAST AND DINNER CATERED MEALS 09JAN-28FEB26$340K
OLD ARABI CAFE, LLC· St. Bernard Parish, LA· Other equipment & supplies· Jan 8, 2026 – Feb 27, 2026· W912NR26PA011
61ST LUNCH/MIDNIGHT LUNCH CATERED MEALS 09JAN-27FEB 2026$331.9K
OLD ARABI CAFE, LLC· St. Bernard Parish, LA· Other equipment & supplies· Jan 8, 2026 – Mar 6, 2026· W912NR26PA010
REPAIR MB-HOUSE SOUTH GALLERY

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Chalmette, Louisiana, so they do not add up across cities.

Chalmette, Louisiana's figures are part of those of St. Bernard Parish, LA ($2.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 57% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Chalmette is mostly in St. Bernard Parish.

See federal money in St. Bernard Parish

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Chalmette, Louisiana is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

St. Bernard Parish11100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

New Orleans-Metairie, LA35

Other cities and towns in St. Bernard Parish

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2214135

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends