County food-access profile · Louisiana
Orleans Parish, LA
Orleans Parish's food-access picture is close to the national norm, with pockets that qualify as low-access. This profile breaks down who qualifies as a food desert and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it.
- 17.6%
- low-access pop.
- 22
- food-desert tracts
- 18.5%
- on SNAP
- 372K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
17.6% of Orleans Parish residents live in a low-access area, and 22 of its 175 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 32
- low-access tracts
- 30K
- food-desert residents
- 17.4%
- households, no vehicle
- 22.6%
- below poverty line
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA, 1-and-10-mile measure).
Orleans Parish's low-access share sits near the national share, at 17.6% per the USDA Atlas. 32 of the county's 175 census tracts are flagged low-access, covering roughly 60,346 residents who live far from a supermarket. 22 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 30,198 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
How Orleans Parish compares nationally
Orleans Parish lands in the middle of the national distribution: a 17.6% low-access share that beats 39% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data (rank #1,907).
Orleans Parish: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 175 census tracts in Orleans Parish, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Orleans Parish vs. other Louisiana counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in Louisiana
- Orleans Parish
Orleans Parish, LA
17.6 % low-access
- Acadia Parish 6.6
Acadia Parish, LA
6.6 % low-access
- Allen Parish
Allen Parish, LA
28.1 % low-access
- Ascension Parish
Ascension Parish, LA
42.3 % low-access
- Assumption Parish 0.9
Assumption Parish, LA
0.9 % low-access
- Avoyelles Parish
Avoyelles Parish, LA
20.5 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 175 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 343,829 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 32 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 22 |
| Low-Access Population | 60,346 |
| Low-Access Share | 17.6%below the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 30,198 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 371,853 |
| Median Household Income | $56,631 |
| Poverty Rate | 22.6%well above the national average |
| SNAP Households | 28,835 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 18.5%well above the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 17.4%well above the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 3.8% |
About 18.5% of Orleans Parish households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 17.6% of residents are low-access, near the national share for U.S. counties.
- 18.5% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 28,835 households here.
- 17.4% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 22 tracts meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for Orleans Parish
near the national share
22 of Orleans Parish's 175 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 12.6% of all its tracts.
A further 10 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 32.
An estimated 60,346 residents, roughly 17.6% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 30,198 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 143 tracts (81.7%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in Orleans Parish
Orleans Parish has 255 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 11 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 97 locations (38% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 97
- 2150 claiborne shell, new orleans
- 510 discount zone, new orleans
- a & j's mart, new orleans
- a & m food store, new orleans
- adams food store #3, new orleans
- az express, new orleans
- adams street grocery & deli, new orleans
- algiers discount food store inc, new orleans
- algiers fuel discount, new orleans
- alzara inc, new orleans
- birdie's, new orleans
- birdies on broad, new orleans
- broadway food store, new orleans
- brooks grocery, new orleans
- brother food mart no 127, new orleans
- brothers food mart 109 109, new orleans
- brothers morrison, new orleans
- brothers read, new orleans
- brown derby #3, new orleans
- brown derby fuel mart, new orleans
- brown derby superstore, new orleans
- bullard chevron, new orleans
- castellon pharmacy, new orleans
- chef chevron, new orleans
- chef fuel, new orleans
- circle k 2707672, new orleans
- circle k stores inc. 2707673, new orleans
- ck's hot shoppe, new orleans
- crowder chevron 1, new orleans
- danny food store, new orleans
- day & night discount #2, new orleans
- delta fuel plus, new orleans
- discount broad center 1, new orleans
- discount corner, new orleans
- discount n out, new orleans
- discount zone, new orleans
- downman fuel, new orleans
- elysian 167, new orleans
- ez stop market, new orleans
- friendly supermarket, new orleans
- fair zone food store 2, new orleans
- flowers bakery outlet 50000201, new orleans
- franklin food mart, new orleans
- franklin shell, new orleans
- fresh market on st claude, new orleans
- fuel express mart, new orleans
- fuel n mart n/a, new orleans
- fuel zone, new orleans
- gentilly market, new orleans
- gentilly shell, new orleans
- gloria's grocery, new orleans
- happy discount, new orleans
- haynes supermarket, new orleans
- jakes uptown, new orleans
- key's fuel mart 3, new orleans
- keys fuel mart, new orleans
- king food store, new orleans
- kwik pik, new orleans
- lakeview food and gas, new orleans
- magnolia meat market, new orleans
- magazine discount zone, new orleans
- magnolia discount, new orleans
- market on magazine, new orleans
- mckenzie food store, new orleans
- murphy usa 7138, new orleans
- nicks supermarket, new orleans
- nola village market, new orleans
- olympia food store, new orleans
- om carrollton oil inc, new orleans
- on the fly, new orleans
- orleans ave market llc, new orleans
- paris avenue superette, new orleans
- petro save, new orleans
- prytania mart, new orleans
- quarter grocery & deli, new orleans
- quick trip discount, new orleans
- racetrac 2383, new orleans
- rainbow grocery, new orleans
- read discount, new orleans
- rocheblave food store, new orleans
- saba food mart 3, new orleans
- savers, new orleans
- savers discount, new orleans
- spur general meyer, new orleans
- st bernard drugs, new orleans
- st charles 155 155, new orleans
- st charles c store 1216, new orleans
- st claude discount, new orleans
- sunshine food market, new orleans
- super discount gas, new orleans
- t and m food mart, new orleans
- tex mart, new orleans
- the market, new orleans
- tigar mart 1, new orleans
- triangle deli, new orleans
- two guys with gas, new orleans
- wagner's meat, new orleans
Combination Grocery/Other · 60
- afro mart, new orleans
- cvs 10058, new orleans
- cvs 10108, new orleans
- cvs 10483, new orleans
- cvs pharmacy inc 5387, new orleans
- cvs pharmacy 10559, new orleans
- cvs pharmacy 10594, new orleans
- cvs pharmacy 763, new orleans
- cvs/ pharmacy 167, new orleans
- cvs/ pharmacy 8266, new orleans
- cvs/ pharmacy inc 2728, new orleans
- cvs/ pharmacy inc 3730, new orleans
- cvs/ pharmacy inc 5503, new orleans
- chris's specialty foods, new orleans
- dollar general 24410, new orleans
- dollartree 9236, new orleans
- dollar general 11260, new orleans
- dollar general 11423, new orleans
- dollar general 11478, new orleans
- dollar general 12690, new orleans
- dollar tree 4569, new orleans
- dollar tree 4948, new orleans
- dollar tree 5347, new orleans
- dollar tree 5751, new orleans
- dollar tree 6277, new orleans
- dollar tree 6333, new orleans
- dollar tree 7923, new orleans
- dollar tree plus 6987, new orleans
- family dollar 11603, new orleans
- family dollar 11949, new orleans
- family dollar 1230, new orleans
- family dollar 5398, new orleans
- family dollar 6689, new orleans
- family dollar 6797, new orleans
- family dollar 8019, new orleans
- family dollar 858, new orleans
- family dollar store 1505, new orleans
- la favorita market, new orleans
- lakeview grocery 129, new orleans
- morenita plus produce and meat 2, new orleans
- terranova's meats, new orleans
- walgreens 11414, new orleans
- walgreens 2262, new orleans
- walgreens 2640, new orleans
- walgreens 4305, new orleans
- walgreens 4451, new orleans
- walgreens 5040, new orleans
- walgreens 03139, new orleans
- walgreens 03889, new orleans
- walgreens 04450, new orleans
- walgreens 09063, new orleans
- walgreens 10316, new orleans
- walgreens 11496, new orleans
- walgreens 15199, new orleans
- walgreens 15615, new orleans
- walgreens 16312, new orleans
- walgreens 17089, new orleans
- walgreens 3558, new orleans
- walgreens 5358, new orleans
- walgreens 5866, new orleans
Medium Grocery Store · 36
- algiers central market, new orleans
- algiers meat and more, new orleans
- algiers supermarket, new orleans
- brothers discount market, new orleans
- back on the avenue, new orleans
- behrman cajun seafood, new orleans
- brothers brown derby, new orleans
- downman super market, new orleans
- east side cash & carry, new orleans
- evergreen supermarket, new orleans
- east over market, new orleans
- family ranch market, new orleans
- fast stop 3, new orleans
- fish and seafood market, new orleans
- franklin discount, new orleans
- habibi grocery, new orleans
- ideal food store, new orleans
- j & p supermarket, new orleans
- key food store, new orleans
- king supermarket, new orleans
- louisiana super saver, new orleans
- ly's supermarket none, new orleans
- magnolia supermarket, new orleans
- magnolia supermarket, new orleans
- monas cafe 1, new orleans
- newton discount market, new orleans
- norma's sweets bakery 2, new orleans
- orleans center market, new orleans
- project food store #2, new orleans
- richards food store, new orleans
- read supermarket, new orleans
- river fine foods, new orleans
- sam's food and liquor, new orleans
- sam's meat market, new orleans
- speed racer, new orleans
- viet my supermarket, new orleans
Super Store · 18
- canseco's carrollton market, new orleans
- costco 1147, new orleans
- ideal discount market 2, new orleans
- robert fresh market #124, new orleans
- robert fresh market 134, new orleans
- rouses market 26, new orleans
- rouses market 29, new orleans
- rouses market 30, new orleans
- rouses market 35, new orleans
- rouses market 36, new orleans
- rouses market 46, new orleans
- rouses market 83, new orleans
- walmart 1163, new orleans
- walmart supercenter 3167, new orleans
- walmart supercenter 5022, new orleans
- walmart supercenter 912, new orleans
- whole foods market 10143, new orleans
- whole foods market 10522, new orleans
Small Grocery Store · 13
- chippewa food store, new orleans
- chef discount, new orleans
- crowder center, new orleans
- discount city, new orleans
- dons food mart, new orleans
- fast stop 102, new orleans
- g & c meat market llc, new orleans
- k & t food store, new orleans
- la consentida 2, new orleans
- mini market don villa, new orleans
- mini market la consentida 3, new orleans
- sohana grocery store, new orleans
- spiders meat market, new orleans
Large Grocery Store · 9
- aerens supermarket, new orleans
- banks meat market, new orleans
- brothers franklin, new orleans
- cansecos explanade market, new orleans
- minh canh supermarket, new orleans
- new orleans food co-op, new orleans
- quickys discount, new orleans
- seafood & chicken market, new orleans
- zara's lilgiant supermarket inc, new orleans
Supermarket · 7
- aldi 82146, new orleans
- bayou fresh, new orleans
- breaux mart supermarket, new orleans
- cansecos elysian field market, new orleans
- circle food market, new orleans
- langenstein's, new orleans
- seafood & chicken market, new orleans
Farmers' Market · 5
- community farmer's market, new orleans
- crescent city farmers market city park, new orleans
- crescent city farmers market greenway, new orleans
- crescent city farmers market uptown, new orleans
- sankofa farmers market, new orleans
Seafood Specialty · 3
- captain sals seafood & chicken, new orleans
- eddie pinto's marina, new orleans
- whoooaanah marketplace, new orleans
Fruits/Veg Specialty · 1
- barcelo gardens fresh market, new orleans
Military Commissary · 1
- new orleans commissary 137, belle chasse
Showing 250 of 255 authorized retailers, largest categories first.
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in Louisiana
Compare Orleans Parish vs Acadia Parish → · All Louisiana counties →
Food access nationally, Louisiana in context
Orleans Parish sits inside Louisiana (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Orleans Parish has low food access? ▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in Orleans Parish? ▼
What is the poverty rate in Orleans Parish? ▼
Is Orleans Parish a food desert? ▼
What share of Orleans Parish households lack a vehicle? ▼
Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.