HUD data

Difficult Development Areas in Louisiana (2026)

HUD's Louisiana DDA designations — metro SDDA ZIP codes and non-metro counties where costs run high against local incomes. Each qualifies for LIHTC's 30% basis boost.
Total DDAs
34
Metro SDDA ZIPs
19
Non-Metro county DDAs
15

Non-metro county DDAs

CountyDDA code
Vernon ParishNCNTY22115N22115
Red River ParishNCNTY22081N22081
Sabine ParishNCNTY22085N22085
Webster ParishNCNTY22119N22119
LaSalle ParishNCNTY22059N22059
Caldwell ParishNCNTY22021N22021
Franklin ParishNCNTY22041N22041
St. Mary ParishNCNTY22101N22101
St. Landry ParishNCNTY22097N22097
Claiborne ParishNCNTY22027N22027
Avoyelles ParishNCNTY22009N22009
Iberia ParishNCNTY22045N22045
Allen ParishNCNTY22003N22003
Lincoln ParishNCNTY22061N22061
Natchitoches ParishNCNTY22069N22069

Metro SDDA ZIP codes

ZIPMetro area
70030Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA MSA
70030New Orleans-Metairie, LA HUD Metro FMR Area
70037New Orleans-Metairie, LA HUD Metro FMR Area
70040New Orleans-Metairie, LA HUD Metro FMR Area
70070New Orleans-Metairie, LA HUD Metro FMR Area
70082New Orleans-Metairie, LA HUD Metro FMR Area
70115New Orleans-Metairie, LA HUD Metro FMR Area
70123New Orleans-Metairie, LA HUD Metro FMR Area
70124New Orleans-Metairie, LA HUD Metro FMR Area
70130New Orleans-Metairie, LA HUD Metro FMR Area
70431Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA MSA
70447Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA MSA
70448Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA MSA
70739Baton Rouge, LA HUD Metro FMR Area
70801Baton Rouge, LA HUD Metro FMR Area
71051Shreveport-Bossier City, LA MSA
71110Shreveport-Bossier City, LA MSA
71237Richland Parish, LA HUD Metro FMR Area
71280Morehouse Parish, LA HUD Metro FMR Area

What is a Difficult Development Area?

HUD designates a metro ZIP code (SDDA) or non-metro county as a DDA when its Fair Market Rent or construction costs are high relative to area median income. New LIHTC construction in a DDA qualifies for a 130% qualified basis — the same 30% boost QCTs receive. For Louisiana investors, DDA and QCT overlays together map where affordable-housing capital is flowing hardest.

Louisiana Difficult Development Areas — FAQs

What is a Difficult Development Area in Louisiana?

A Difficult Development Area (DDA) is a HUD-designated metro ZIP code or non-metro county where land, construction, and utility costs are high relative to Area Median Income. HUD republishes the Louisiana list annually.

What is the LIHTC basis boost for a DDA?

A LIHTC project in a designated DDA may qualify for a 30% increase in eligible basis — the same boost available in a Qualified Census Tract — which raises the credit amount the project can claim.

What is the difference between an SDDA and a non-metro DDA?

Small Area DDAs (SDDAs) are designated at the ZIP-code level inside metro areas, so one Louisiana metro can contain both designated and undesignated ZIPs. Non-metro DDAs are designated at the county level.

How do DDAs affect an investor buying a rental?

DDA status signals a high-cost submarket relative to local incomes, which usually means higher purchase prices and construction budgets. It does not change loan eligibility on its own; business-purpose financing is underwritten on the property's economics and lender guidelines.

Local market news & updates

What the latest published data says about Louisiana

Every update below is a published figure from a named federal source, shown with the exact period that source covers. Where a dataset is only produced at county or state level, it is labelled that way rather than presented as city data. These are market statistics for informational purposes only — they are not rates, loan terms, or an offer of credit.

  • State dataData through ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    Louisiana housing costs — ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    The most recent published Census reading for Louisiana shows a median owner-occupied home value of $208,700, a median gross rent of $1,038 per month. These are survey estimates for the period shown, not live listing prices, and they are the starting point investors use to sanity-check a rent assumption before underwriting a DSCR file.

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey

  • State dataData through ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    Louisiana renter demand indicators — ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    Census reports a population of 4,621,025, a median household income of $60,023, a rental vacancy estimate of 14.8% for Louisiana. Income and vacancy set the practical ceiling on achievable rent, which is what a DSCR calculation is ultimately built on.

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey

Source periods represented above: ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023. Each figure updates only when its publisher releases a new period — we never restamp an older reading with a newer date.

Informational market data only. Nothing in this section is a rate, an annual percentage rate, a payment, a loan term, an approval, or an offer or commitment to lend. Citing a federal dataset does not imply the agency endorses, sponsors or is affiliated with Simply Approved Mortgages LLC (NMLS #2620881). Financing referenced on this page is business-purpose investment property financing.

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A DSCR file is judged on the property, not your tax returns: qualifying rent divided by PITIA — principal, interest, taxes, insurance, plus HOA and flood where they apply. Most programs use the lesser of the in-place lease rent and the appraiser's market rent, so a lease signed below market usually caps the ratio no matter how strong the comps look.

Three inputs move the outcome more than anything else: rent support on the appraiser's rent schedule (Form 1007 or 1025), the LTV tier, and the credit tier. Dropping leverage by five points or moving up a FICO band frequently changes pricing more than shopping a different lender does.

Before you write an offer, price taxes and insurance at post-sale levels rather than the seller's current bill. In reassess-on-transfer states and in coastal insurance markets, that single adjustment is the most common reason a deal that penciled at contract fails the ratio at underwriting.

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