Lake Charles vs New Orleans leftover
You'd keep $25 more a month in New Orleans
$2,422/mo leftover in New Orleans vs $2,397 in Lake Charles after tax and rent ($25 more). +$300 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Lake Charles leftover
$2,397
a month after tax and rent
New Orleans leftover
$2,422
+$25 vs Lake Charles
Compare Lake Charles to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Lake Charles.
Monthly gap
Lake Charles → New Orleans
$25
more / month in New Orleans
$2,422 in New Orleans · $2,397 in Lake Charles · 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, 72 households moved Lake Charles → New Orleans (avg AGI $49,250). 73 went the other way. The whole move →
+$25 / mo
| Per month | Lake Charles | New Orleans | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,958 | $7,005 | +$47 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,542 | $1,557 | +$15 |
| Take-home pay | $5,417 | $5,448 | +$32 |
| Rent | $1,149 | $1,223 | +$74 |
| Getting around | $566 | $498 | −$68 |
| Groceries | $360 | $360 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $405 | $405 | $0 |
| Utilities | $225 | $225 | $0 |
| Everything else | $315 | $315 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,397 | $2,422 | +$25 |
To break even in New Orleans, you'd need to earn
$83,500
Household gross, versus $83,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Lake Charles does now.
The tax difference alone
−$17
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.2% in Lake Charles, 22.2% in New Orleans.
More about New Orleans
Lake Charles, LA in full
A flat 3% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,368 and 228 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
New Orleans, LA in full
A flat 3% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,456 and 240 sunny days; commutes average 25 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from New Orleans on New Orleans wages.
New Orleans → Lake Charles →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in New Orleans than Lake Charles?
A one-bedroom is about $1,149 in Lake Charles versus $1,223 in New Orleans. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $25 a month higher in New Orleans. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does New Orleans have state income tax?
New Orleans is in Louisiana, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Lake Charles to New Orleans?
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 Lake Charles and New Orleans 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.