Health Data For Louisiana

Parish Health Rankings

How Do Parishes Rank for Health Factors?

Health factors in the County Health Rankings represent the focus areas that drive how long and how well we live, including health behaviors (tobacco use, diet & exercise, alcohol & drug use, sexual activity), clinical care (access to care, quality of care), social and economic factors (education, employment, income, family & social support, community safety), and the physical environment (air & water quality, housing & transit).

The blue map to the right shows the distribution of Louisiana’s health factors based on weighted scores for health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and the physical environment. The map is divided into for quartiles with less color intensity indicating better performance in the respective summary rankings.

Addressing Housing Costs : Healthy Living

How Do Opportunities for Stable and Affordable Housing Vary in Louisiana?

Housing is central to people’s opportunities for living long and well. Nationwide, housing costs far exceed affordability given local incomes in many communities. As a result, people have no choice but to spend too much on housing, leaving little left for other necessities. Here, we focus on stable and affordable housing as an essential element of healthy communities. We also explore the connection between housing and children in poverty to illuminate the fact that these issues are made even more difficult when family budgets are the tightest.

What can work to create and preserve stable and affordable housing that can improve economic and social well‐being and connect residents to opportunity?

A comprehensive, strategic approach that looks across a community and multiple sectors is needed to create and preserve stable, affordable housing in our communities. The way forward requires policies, programs, and systems changes that respond to the specific needs of each community, promote inclusive and connected neighborhoods, reduce displacement, and enable opportunity for better health for all people.

This includes the following efforts:

More Inclusive and Connected Communities

Address Capital Resources To Create & Preserve For Low/Middle Income Families

Access To Resources For Low/Middle Income Families

Inclusive zoning
Civic engagement in public governance and in community development decisions
Fair housing laws and enforcement
Youth leadership programs
Access to living wage jobs, quality health care, grocery stores, green spaces and parks, and public transportation systems.

Access To Resources For Low/Middle Income Families

Address Capital Resources To Create & Preserve For Low/Middle Income Families

Access To Resources For Low/Middle Income Families

Housing choice vouchers for low‐ and very low‐income households
Housing trust funds

Address Capital Resources To Create & Preserve For Low/Middle Income Families

Acquisition, management, and financing of land for affordable housing, like land banks or land trusts
Tax credits, block grants, and other government subsidies or revenues to advance affordable housing development
Zoning changes that reduce the cost of housing production