New Orleans vs Lafayette leftover
You'd keep $193 more a month in Lafayette
$2,612/mo leftover in Lafayette vs $2,419 in New Orleans after tax and rent ($193 more). +$2,316 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
Lafayette leftover
$2,612
+$193 vs New Orleans
Compare New Orleans to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to New Orleans.
Monthly gap
New Orleans → Lafayette
$193
more / month in Lafayette
$2,612 in Lafayette · $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
In 2022-2023, 191 households moved New Orleans → Lafayette (avg AGI $57,010). 184 went the other way. The whole move →
+$193 / mo
| Per month | New Orleans | Lafayette | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,000 | $7,109 | +$109 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,555 | $1,591 | +$36 |
| Take-home pay | $5,445 | $5,518 | +$74 |
| Rent | $1,223 | $1,052 | −$171 |
| Getting around | $498 | $549 | +$51 |
| Groceries | $360 | $360 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $405 | $405 | $0 |
| Utilities | $225 | $225 | $0 |
| Everything else | $315 | $315 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,419 | $2,612 | +$193 |
To break even in Lafayette, you'd need to earn
$82,000
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
−$39
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.2% in New Orleans, 22.4% in Lafayette.
More about Lafayette
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.
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.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Lafayette on Lafayette wages.
Lafayette → New Orleans →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Lafayette than New Orleans?
A one-bedroom is about $1,223 in New Orleans versus $1,052 in Lafayette. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $193 a month higher in Lafayette. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Lafayette have state income tax?
Lafayette is in Louisiana, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from New Orleans to Lafayette?
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 Lafayette 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.