Should I Buy a Home in New Orleans If Parts of the City Are Sinking?
The honest answer with neighborhood elevation data and a free tool to look up any address
Yes. But buy smart.
New Orleans is not one market. It’s dozens of micro-markets sitting on fundamentally different geology. The question isn’t whether to buy in New Orleans, it’s where.
Why some neighborhoods are sinking and others aren’t
The oldest neighborhoods in New Orleans were built on natural levee ridges created by the Mississippi River over thousands of years. That sediment compacted into stable, elevated ground. The Garden District, Bywater, Esplanade Ridge, and Bayou St. John all sit on that original high ground. They’ve been above sea level for 300 years.
After 1900 the Army Corps of Engineers built drainage systems powerful enough to pump out the cypress swamps surrounding the original city. That opened up land for development — but draining organic peaty soil causes it to compress and sink. That’s why neighborhoods like Lakeview, Gentilly, and Broadmoor sit below sea level today.
The elevation data by neighborhood
This table is drawn from USGS elevation data published by the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. You can view the full map here: https://www.datacenterresearch.org/maps/reference-maps/#gallery-7
What this means for flood insurance
Elevation is only part of the picture. Flood insurance under FEMA’s Risk Rating 2.0 system is now calculated house by house, not just by flood zone. A raised home in Gentilly may carry a lower premium than a slab home two doors down in the same zone.
Before you make an offer on any property, ask for the seller’s flood declaration page. That single document tells you exactly what they’re paying and why.
Look up any address yourself
👉 https://geocodify.com/what-is-my-elevation
Type in any New Orleans address. Positive number = above sea level. Negative number = below. Note that consumer tools can round to zero in New Orleans given how small the differences are the Data Center map above is the most reliable neighborhood-level reference.
The bottom line
New Orleans has neighborhoods that have been above sea level for three centuries, built on ground that was stable long before the city existed. The data isn’t a reason to avoid this city. It’s a reason to buy smart within it.
If you’re relocating to New Orleans and want a neighborhood-by-neighborhood breakdown of any area you’re considering, reply to this email and I’ll send you everything you need.
Philip Ewbank is a licensed Realtor with Keller Williams New Orleans. He covers the New Orleans and North Shore real estate markets.
🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠🏠 Philip Ewbank Realtor, Keller Williams Realty New Orleans 8601 Leake Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118 C: 504.335.7481 | O: 504.862.0100 Each office independently owned & operated. Licensed in the state of Louisiana. License #0995700196