Parishes with the oldest homes in Louisiana
There's an undeniable charm that comes with pre-World War II American architecture, characterized by high ceilings, crown molding, hardwood floors, and ornate details. In fact, 12.8% of all housing units in America were built in 1939 or before, showing the popularity of the preservation of these units. Owning a piece of history can sometimes come with a cost: Many old homes come with asbestos, lead piping, knob-and-tube wiring, and other outdated building styles that can rack up a hefty price tag to modernize. However, with more and more modernized pre-war homes on the market, generally located just outside bustling downtown metros, investing in property that has withstood the test of time is an attractive prospect.
Stacker compiled a list of the parishes in Louisiana with the oldest homes using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Parishes are ranked by median year the structure was built according to 2020 5-year estimates. Ties broken by the highest percentage of homes built before 1939.
The country's domestic architecture is perhaps best characterized by a rugged individualism as opposed to the hybridization of disparate architectural elements. As Maya Angelou once perceptively observed, "the ache for home lives in all of us," a phrase that has meant very different things to different people.
Modest or palatial, there is no shortage of noteworthy homes in the U.S. Log cabins constructed by industrious pioneers have dotted the landscape alongside traditional Native American dwellings ever since immigrant Swedes introduced them to the New World in 1638. The unprecedented personal fortunes amassed by the so-called "Robber Barons" at the close of the 19th century gave way to the construction of a staggering number of Gilded Age estates.
The ravages of time spared neither the sumptuous nor the humble. Stately mansions, often prohibitively costly to maintain in the modern era, were frequently neglected; simple structures were forgotten, discarded by their owners, and damaged by natural elements. However, the tireless efforts of architectural preservationists and local historical societies have saved many of these homes from demolition, leading to their inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and thereby safeguarding them for future generations.
Keep reading to learn more about which parishes in Louisiana have the oldest homes.
#50. Sabine Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.6% (399 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 22.5% (3,421 homes)
- Total homes built: 15,221
#49. Lafayette Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.7% (2,758 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 29.9% (31,073 homes)
- Total homes built: 103,855
#48. St. Helena Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.0% (266 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 18.8% (1,009 homes)
- Total homes built: 5,372
#47. Union Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.6% (316 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 22.5% (2,682 homes)
- Total homes built: 11,932
#46. Natchitoches Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.4% (1,043 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 20.0% (3,852 homes)
- Total homes built: 19,286
#45. St. Charles Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.8% (577 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 21.2% (4,406 homes)
- Total homes built: 20,806
#44. Caldwell Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.5% (340 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 20.8% (1,090 homes)
- Total homes built: 5,251
#43. Lincoln Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.3% (479 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 21.3% (4,349 homes)
- Total homes built: 20,431
#42. Calcasieu Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.9% (3,614 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 28.1% (25,723 homes)
- Total homes built: 91,644
#41. St. Martin Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.6% (1,090 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 25.1% (5,931 homes)
- Total homes built: 23,643
#40. Pointe Coupee Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.4% (741 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 23.1% (2,690 homes)
- Total homes built: 11,649
#39. St. John the Baptist Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.5% (619 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 17.8% (3,168 homes)
- Total homes built: 17,846
#38. Vermilion Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 9.5% (2,553 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 29.7% (7,958 homes)
- Total homes built: 26,769
#37. East Baton Rouge Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.7% (7,265 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 22.9% (44,784 homes)
- Total homes built: 195,178
#36. Terrebonne Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.1% (2,306 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 23.7% (10,809 homes)
- Total homes built: 45,546
#35. Assumption Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.2% (566 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 16.0% (1,740 homes)
- Total homes built: 10,894
#34. Iberville Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 10.9% (1,479 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 20.1% (2,716 homes)
- Total homes built: 13,533
#33. Ouachita Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.0% (2,086 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 21.0% (14,488 homes)
- Total homes built: 68,905
#32. Lafourche Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.0% (1,676 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 23.7% (9,831 homes)
- Total homes built: 41,535
#31. St. James Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.3% (475 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 25.8% (2,301 homes)
- Total homes built: 8,935
#30. Washington Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.6% (1,429 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 20.2% (4,388 homes)
- Total homes built: 21,762
#29. Iberia Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.6% (2,334 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 22.6% (6,922 homes)
- Total homes built: 30,625
#28. Evangeline Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.9% (740 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 17.2% (2,596 homes)
- Total homes built: 15,088
#27. LaSalle Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.7% (382 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 18.2% (1,232 homes)
- Total homes built: 6,758
#26. Red River Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 1.7% (71 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 21.8% (923 homes)
- Total homes built: 4,230
#25. West Carroll Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.2% (165 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 16.2% (843 homes)
- Total homes built: 5,211
#24. Rapides Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.6% (2,697 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 20.4% (11,936 homes)
- Total homes built: 58,564
#23. Madison Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.6% (240 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 22.3% (1,154 homes)
- Total homes built: 5,179
#22. Richland Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.8% (431 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 21.3% (1,920 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,026
#21. Avoyelles Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.1% (1,130 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 17.1% (3,193 homes)
- Total homes built: 18,624
#20. Acadia Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.3% (1,671 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 20.8% (5,509 homes)
- Total homes built: 26,516
#19. Bienville Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.8% (615 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 13.0% (1,026 homes)
- Total homes built: 7,922
#18. St. Bernard Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.2% (374 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 17.1% (2,925 homes)
- Total homes built: 17,151
#17. Catahoula Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.4% (169 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 17.3% (870 homes)
- Total homes built: 5,036
#16. Morehouse Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.2% (534 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 15.6% (1,986 homes)
- Total homes built: 12,694
#15. Jefferson Davis Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.3% (883 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 20.8% (2,922 homes)
- Total homes built: 14,045
#14. Franklin Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.6% (619 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 20.2% (1,890 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,371
#13. Allen Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.8% (677 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 19.7% (1,969 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,984
#12. St. Mary Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.0% (1,406 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 14.6% (3,432 homes)
- Total homes built: 23,557
#11. Claiborne Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.7% (215 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 9.3% (733 homes)
- Total homes built: 7,900
#10. Webster Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.9% (575 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 10.8% (2,141 homes)
- Total homes built: 19,783
#9. Winn Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 3.7% (271 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 9.6% (703 homes)
- Total homes built: 7,312
#8. Concordia Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.4% (423 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 17.8% (1,723 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,670
#7. Caddo Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 5.6% (6,352 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 14.8% (16,788 homes)
- Total homes built: 113,427
#6. East Carroll Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 6.6% (187 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 14.3% (403 homes)
- Total homes built: 2,821
#5. Jackson Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 7.9% (628 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 13.6% (1,079 homes)
- Total homes built: 7,919
#4. Jefferson Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.7% (5,028 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 8.3% (15,735 homes)
- Total homes built: 188,576
#3. St. Landry Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 2.9% (1,088 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 14.3% (5,308 homes)
- Total homes built: 37,110
#2. Tensas Parish
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 4.6% (157 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 12.2% (419 homes)
- Total homes built: 3,433
#1. New Orleans
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 34.1% (65,544 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 10.3% (19,857 homes)
- Total homes built: 192,012