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Lafayette rental market: the actual numbers

Researched October 2026. Sources: Trulia (Oct 2026); Rentometer; HUD FY2026 Fair Market Rents; CapRateCity (Feb 2026); Lafayette Parish assessment data; U.S. Census ACS; Louisiana Workforce Commission.

Monthly rent by bedroom - Lafayette

Lafayette softened through 2026 - Trulia has the average down 6.7% year over year, the sharpest decline of any market on this list. HUD's FY2026 fair market rent for a 3-bedroom is $1,301, well below asking rent, which matters if you plan to accept housing vouchers.

Bedroom	Rent / mo	Notes
3 bed, all property types	$1,725	Trulia, Oct 2026
4 bed, all property types	$2,195	Trulia, Oct 2026
3 bed, single-family house	$1,750 median / $1,800 average	Rentometer - houses are the most expensive rental type here
3 bed, apartment	$1,668	Rentometer
All property types	$1,400	Trulia, Oct 2026 - down 6.7% YoY

Submarkets across Lafayette Parish

• River Ranch — Median near $385,000; new-urbanist walkable town centre, the closest thing Lafayette has to a trendy address
• Bendel Gardens / Broadmoor — Near $195,000; established tree-lined streets - the core first-time-buyer and rental stock
• Youngsville — Near $295,000; the growth story - population roughly tripled since 2000, top-rated schools
• Broussard — Near $275,000; by Sugar Mill Pond, strong family demand
• Saint Streets / South University — Historic homes near UL Lafayette; student-heavy leasing with summer turnover risk
• Scott / Carencro — $165,000 - $195,000; the affordability tier, I-10 commuter towns

School districts

Lafayette Parish School System runs 47 schools for about 30,700 students at roughly 19:1. Quality varies sharply by address - which is exactly why Youngsville and Broussard command a premium over north Lafayette. Lafayette also has a large Catholic and private school sector that absorbs families who would otherwise bid up the public-school zones, so school-driven rent premiums here are softer than in Katy or Sugar Land. Verify the attendance zone per address.

Where tenant demand comes from

Lafayette is the operational hub for Gulf of Mexico offshore energy services - Halliburton, SLB and Baker Hughes all base Gulf operations here - but the city has spent a decade diversifying. Ochsner Lafayette General and Our Lady of Lourdes are now the most stable employers, UL Lafayette adds roughly 16,000-18,000 students and about 2,300 staff, and CGI, Stuller and Acadian Ambulance round it out. Unemployment sits near 3.4%. The catch: energy employment is cyclical, and Lafayette lost more than 20,000 jobs in the 2014-16 downturn.

What it costs to hold a rental here

• Lafayette Parish's effective property tax rate is about 0.52% - but the homestead exemption means an investor holding a non-owner-occupied property pays materially more than that headline figure
• Louisiana's homestead exemption removes the first $75,000 of assessed value for owner-occupants; a rental does not qualify
• Insurance is the dominant operating variable: Louisiana's carrier crisis has pushed homeowners premiums far above the national average even this far inland - get a binder quote per address
• Budget for flood separately: low-lying coulees and the Vermilion River corridor flash-flood during multi-inch rain events

What to watch

• Rents fell 6.7% year over year - the softest market on this list. Do not underwrite rent growth.
• Median price estimates disagree widely depending on source and month ($195,000 vs $257,000); underwrite with your own comps
• Energy cycle risk: a downturn hits Lafayette faster and harder than Baton Rouge or New Orleans