At 9.0%, the uninsured rate among under-65 residents in Orleans Parish is effectively the Louisiana average of 9.2% — about 24,610 people out of 274,370. It is the 31st lowest of the 64 parishes in Louisiana. A county sitting on its state's average is the most ordinary case there is, which makes the state's own rules the thing worth reading rather than anything local.
Orleans Parish against Louisiana, and against the counties we cover
| Orleans Parish | Louisiana | Covered counties | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uninsured, under 65 | 9.0% | 9.2% | 13.0% |
| Marketplace enrollees per 1,000 | 140 | — | 127 |
| Insurers selling here | 3 | 4 (median) | 5 |
| Individual plans offered | 38 | — | 84 |
State uninsured rate from the Census SAHIE series; the final column is the median across the 104 counties covered on this site. Enrollment density is CMS plan selections per 1,000 under-65 residents.
What you can actually buy here
3 insurers compete here. That is thin enough that switching carrier usually means switching hospital system too, and wide enough that the premiums genuinely differ. Both things are worth checking before either is dismissed. Between them they offer 38 plans, about 13 for each insurer, a short list by national standards. Short lists are easier to compare properly, which is a real advantage as long as one of them fits your doctors. The count is up from 2 last year. Insurers entering a parish usually means they like what they see in the risk pool, and it tends to show up as more aggressive pricing the following year rather than immediately.
38,329 marketplace plan selections were recorded in Orleans Parish for 2026, or 140 per thousand under-65 residents — above the 127 typical of the counties covered here. Enough people locally have done this that the process is not unfamiliar territory. Only 3,716 were new consumers against 34,613 renewals — a 10% new share. A settled, returning population like that means the plans on offer have been chosen by the same people repeatedly, which is a reasonable signal that the networks hold up.
Nearest parishes on coverage
The parishes we cover in Louisiana whose uninsured rate sits closest to Orleans Parish. Worth a look if you are comparing across a parish line or moving.
| Parish | Uninsured | Insurers | Enrollees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caddo Parish | 8.8% | 5 | 12,714 |
| East Baton Rouge Parish | 9.2% | 5 | 37,583 |
| Lafayette Parish | 8.8% | 3 | 16,105 |
| Calcasieu Parish | 8.7% | 4 | 10,783 |
| St. Tammany Parish | 8.2% | 4 | 15,076 |
| Jefferson Parish | 13.0% | 3 | 32,498 |
Everything that applies in Louisiana · How COBRA works · Work out your COBRA premium · After a job ends
Common questions
How many people are uninsured in Orleans Parish?
About 24,610 people under 65, out of 274,370 in that age group — 9.0%, the 31st lowest of the 64 parishes in Louisiana. The Louisiana average is 9.2%. Census Bureau estimates for 2024, the most recent published.
How many health insurers sell in Orleans Parish?
3 insurers offer individual marketplace plans in Orleans Parish for 2026, up from 2 the year before, and between them they sell 38 individual medical plans. The median across the counties covered on this site is 5 insurers and 84 plans.
How many people in Orleans Parish buy marketplace coverage?
38,329 plan selections for 2026 — 3,716 new consumers and 34,613 renewals. That works out at 140 per thousand under-65 residents, against a median of 127 across the counties covered here. New consumers are the group most likely to have lost a job during the year.
Talk it through with a licensed agent
Which option is right depends on your state, your income and which doctors you need to keep. A licensed agent can walk through it with you in about eight minutes.
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Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, 2024 (released August 2026)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2026 Marketplace Open Enrollment County-Level Public Use File
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2026 Service Area Public Use File
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2026 Plan Attributes Public Use File
- U.S. Department of Labor, FAQs on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage for Workers