A market of 981,662 residents, ranked 57th among the 387 metropolitan areas in the country. Households, home values, education, business density, and which trades are already crowded, all from Census data.
Officially the New Orleans-Metairie, LA metropolitan statistical area, it takes in New Orleans and Metairie.
The median household in New Orleans, LA earns $62,655 a year, 22 percent below the national figure (the US median is $80,734). Home values tell their own story; here the median is $260,200, 22 percent below the national figure. Together they say a good deal about the ticket sizes a local business can expect.
The household mix in brief. Of 487,453 people in the labor force, 6.9% are unemployed, 2 points above the US share. Education: 33.4% with a bachelor's or higher, 2 points below the US share. New Orleans, LA has a median age of 39.2 (about the same as the national median). 60.6% of homes are lived in by their owners, 5 points below the US share.
Relative to Louisiana, household income in New Orleans, LA is 3 percent higher than the Louisiana figure, home values are 20 percent higher than the Louisiana figure, and businesses per 1,000 residents are 9 percent denser than the Louisiana figure.
By the Census Bureau's count New Orleans, LA supports 25,133 employer establishments. Relative to population, 25.6 per 1,000 residents, in line with the national figure. Home-services contractors make up 918 of those establishments, 3.7% of the total, 1 points below the US share.
| Category | Locations | Per 100k people | Local ÷ US share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and other eating places | 2,289 | 233.2 | 1.23× |
| Legal services | 1,155 | 117.7 | 2.12× |
| Physicians' offices | 662 | 67.4 | 1.01× |
| Lessors of real estate (all) | 449 | 45.7 | 1.09× |
| Personal care services (all) | 432 | 44 | 0.89× |
| Dentists | 382 | 38.9 | 0.94× |
| Grocery and convenience retailers | 366 | 37.3 | 1.22× |
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 358 | 36.5 | 1.07× |
| Electrical contractors | 208 | 21.2 | 0.83× |
| Child day care services | 203 | 20.7 | 0.82× |
| Landscaping services | 180 | 18.3 | 0.51× |
| General freight trucking | 173 | 17.6 | 0.49× |
| Beauty salons | 170 | 17.3 | 0.67× |
| General automotive repair | 165 | 16.8 | 0.65× |
| Automobile dealers | 98 | 10 | 0.69× |
| Other specialty trade contractors (paving, asphalt, fencing) | 93 | 9.5 | 0.72× |
| Self-storage facilities | 80 | 8.1 | 1.43× |
| Roofing contractors | 51 | 5.2 | 0.66× |
| Highway, street and bridge construction | 34 | 3.5 | 1.22× |
| Concrete foundation and structure contractors | 28 | 2.9 | 0.40× |
Reading the index: 1.00 matches the national mix, 1.50 means half again as common here, 0.50 half as common.
The market over-indexes on legal services, self-storage operators, restaurants and road and paving contractors. Legal services show it most, with 1,155 establishments, 2.1 times the share nationwide. Where the base is lighter: concrete contractors, general freight trucking, landscaping services and general automotive repair. Concrete contractors: 28 establishments, about 40% of the national share. Close to the national mix: plumbing and HVAC contractors, dentists and physicians' offices.
On a per-capita basis restaurants come first at 233.2 per 100,000, ahead of legal services and physicians' offices. By raw count the largest categories here are restaurants (2,289), legal services (1,155) and physicians' offices (662). Across the groups, legal services run 2.1 times the US share and automotive businesses about 66% of.
For legal services, self-storage operators and restaurants, expect the Google Ads auction to be contested: more advertisers per search means higher cost per click and a real premium on ad relevance, landing-page quality and call tracking that proves which keywords produce jobs. With concrete contractors, general freight trucking and landscaping services in short supply, the map pack often has room; a complete listing and a handful of recent reviews can put a business in it. At 60.6% owner-occupied, more residents rent than in the typical US market. Consumer home-services demand is thinner per household, and property managers become a worthwhile audience. An older-than-average market (median age about the same as the national median) responds to search results, review counts and a phone number that is answered; it is less swayed by feed advertising. Income 22 percent below the national figure puts price front and center; ads that state the offer plainly and make calling easy do best.
What YelloPost runs for businesses in a market shaped like New Orleans, LA.
A site assistant that answers questions and captures the lead at any hour.
Email automation for the customer list.
Campaigns on Google fenced to the service area and judged on booked work.
Keeping the Business Profile complete, current and answered so it earns the map placement.
Pages that answer the specific services-plus-place searches people in New Orleans, LA use, built to be found.
A clean, fast site with one job: make the call happen.
New Orleans, LA has 981,662 residents (US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimate), ranking 57th of 387 metropolitan areas.
The median household income in New Orleans, LA is $62,655 (ACS 2024 5-year), below the US median of $80,734.
The Census Bureau counts 25,133 employer establishments in New Orleans, LA (County Business Patterns 2023), or 25.6 businesses per 1,000 residents.
The median home value in New Orleans, LA is $260,200, and 60.6% of homes are owner-occupied (ACS 2024 5-year).
Measured against the US business mix (County Business Patterns 2023), legal services, self-storage operators and restaurants have more establishments per resident than the US average; concrete contractors, general freight trucking and landscaping services have fewer in New Orleans, LA.
Bring the trade and the towns you serve; we bring the numbers and a plan.
Data: US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimates and County Business Patterns 2023. Updated 2026-09-29.