St. James Parish, Louisiana Eviction Risk: Low

St. James Parish scores a 2.7/10 (Low) across its 18 cities, placing it 38th out of 64 Louisiana eviction laws parishes on the eviction-risk scale. According to the rank data, 37 parishes carry more risk and 26 are more landlord-friendly, which puts St. James squarely in the middle third of the state. For landlords, that middle-tier standing translates to an environment where tenants pay an average of $1,186 per month in rent, rent burden averages 35.9% of income, and the overall tenant population is relatively modest, with only 14.9% of households renting.

The intra-county spread, from a low of 2.1/10 to a high of 3/10, is tighter than many Louisiana parishes, but it is not flat. Investors who treat St. James Parish as a uniform bloc will miss meaningful neighborhood-level variation that affects tenant stability and vacancy risk in real portfolios.

The cities inside St. James Parish

The highest-risk location in the parish is Welcome, which scores 3/10, the ceiling of the local range. Close behind are Gramercy (population 2,814, score 2.9/10), Lafourche Crossing (population 2,790, score 2.9/10), and North Vacherie (population 1,905, score 2.9/10). These communities carry the highest tenant-stress indicators in the parish and warrant tighter screening criteria and more conservative underwriting relative to parish averages.

At the other end of the spectrum, Bayou Country Club scores 2.4/10 and South Vacherie (population 2,954) and Paulina both score 2.5/10, making them the most landlord-favorable locations in the parish. Lutcher, the largest city in the parish with a population of 2,991, sits at the parish average of 2.7/10, offering a broadly representative baseline. Risk is genuinely hyper-local here, and city-level scores should drive due diligence rather than the parish average alone.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord operating in St. James Parish works under Louisiana state law, specifically La. R.S. § 9:3251 et seq. (Louisiana Lease Law). For non-payment of rent or a lease violation, the notice period is 5 days. A no-cause termination at end of term requires 30 days notice. Louisiana does not require just cause for eviction and, through state preemption, prohibits local governments from enacting rent control, so landlords here face no rent-cap exposure. Understanding the full Louisiana eviction process matters because, even in an uncontested case, resolution takes 14 to 30 days after filing, and a contested proceeding can run 30 to 90 days.

Louisiana eviction costs are a significant line item: court filing fees range from $170 to $300, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $175, and if legal representation is needed, attorney fees typically fall between $500 and $3,000. Landlords budgeting for worst-case enforcement should plan for the higher end of each component, particularly on contested cases that stretch into the 90-day window.

With a parish-wide poverty rate of 12.1% and only 14.9% of households renting, the tenant base in St. James Parish is relatively small and concentrated; the city-by-city scores in the grid above show exactly where within the parish that stress is highest.