New Orleans vs Alexandria leftover
You'd keep $158 more a month in Alexandria
$2,577/mo leftover in Alexandria vs $2,419 in New Orleans after tax and rent ($158 more). +$1,896 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
New Orleans leftover
$2,419
a month after tax and rent
Alexandria leftover
$2,577
+$158 vs New Orleans
Compare New Orleans to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to New Orleans.
Monthly gap
New Orleans → Alexandria
$158
more / month in Alexandria
$2,577 in Alexandria · $2,419 in New Orleans · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
51 went the other way. The whole move →
+$158 / mo
| Per month | New Orleans | Alexandria | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,000 | $6,672 | −$328 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,555 | $1,448 | −$107 |
| Take-home pay | $5,445 | $5,224 | −$221 |
| Rent | $1,223 | $803 | −$420 |
| Getting around | $498 | $539 | +$41 |
| Groceries | $360 | $360 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $405 | $405 | $0 |
| Utilities | $225 | $225 | $0 |
| Everything else | $315 | $315 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,419 | $2,577 | +$158 |
To break even in Alexandria, you'd need to earn
$77,500
Household gross, versus $84,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as New Orleans does now.
The tax difference alone
+$118
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.2% in New Orleans, 21.7% in Alexandria.
More about Alexandria
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.
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 → New Orleans →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Alexandria than New Orleans?
A one-bedroom is about $1,223 in New Orleans versus $803 in Alexandria. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $158 a month higher 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 New Orleans 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 New Orleans 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.