Lafayette vs Alexandria leftover
Moving to Alexandria costs you $36 a month
$2,587/mo leftover in Alexandria vs $2,623 in Lafayette after tax and rent ($36 less). −$432 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Lafayette leftover
$2,623
a month after tax and rent
Alexandria leftover
$2,587
−$36 vs Lafayette
Compare Lafayette to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Lafayette.
Monthly gap
Lafayette → Alexandria
$36
less / month in Lafayette
$2,587 in Alexandria · $2,623 in Lafayette · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 52 households moved Lafayette → Alexandria (avg AGI $51,077). 147 went the other way. The whole move →
−$36 / mo
| Per month | Lafayette | Alexandria | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,125 | $6,687 | −$438 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,596 | $1,453 | −$143 |
| Take-home pay | $5,529 | $5,234 | −$295 |
| Rent | $1,052 | $803 | −$249 |
| Getting around | $549 | $539 | −$10 |
| Groceries | $360 | $360 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $405 | $405 | $0 |
| Utilities | $225 | $225 | $0 |
| Everything else | $315 | $315 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,623 | $2,587 | −$36 |
To break even in Alexandria, you'd need to earn
$81,000
Household gross, versus $85,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Lafayette does now.
The tax difference alone
+$158
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.4% in Lafayette, 21.7% in Alexandria.
More about Alexandria
Lafayette, LA in full
A flat 3% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,252 and 231 sunny days; commutes average 25 minutes.
Alexandria, LA in full
A flat 3% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $956 and 226 sunny days; commutes average 24 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Alexandria on Alexandria wages.
Alexandria → Lafayette →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Alexandria than Lafayette?
A one-bedroom is about $1,052 in Lafayette versus $803 in Alexandria. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $36 a month lower in Alexandria. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Alexandria have state income tax?
Alexandria is in Louisiana, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Lafayette to Alexandria?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Louisiana tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Lafayette and Alexandria moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.