Moving from New Orleans to Lafayette
New Orleans to Lafayette: $193 more leftover
$2,612/mo leftover in Lafayette vs $2,419 in New Orleans after tax and rent ($193 more). +$2,316 a year — not a moving-company quote.
New Orleans leftover
$2,419
a month after tax and rent
Lafayette leftover
$2,612
+$193 vs New Orleans
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
Leftover is not a cost-of-living index. Leftover vs a COL index
Who already made this move
In 2022-2023, 191 households moved New Orleans → Lafayette (about 281 people, average AGI $57,010). 184 households went the other way.
Source: IRS SOI county-to-county migration. Not a moving company; not a recommendation.
| Per month | New Orleans | Lafayette |
|---|---|---|
| Take-home | $5,445 | $5,518 |
| Rent | $1,223 | $1,052 |
| All other costs | $1,803 | $1,854 |
| Left over | $2,419 | $2,612 |
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.
Full line-by-line comparison →
What the move itself costs
About 194 road miles, 1 bedroom. Typical ranges, not quotes.
- Full-service mover
- $1,750–$3,250
- Container or pod
- $1,200–$2,200
- Rent a truck
- $450–$850
Dig into Lafayette
Paycheck
Take-home pay after tax and rent, and what's left at the end of the month.
Who moved
Which metros people actually left and arrived from, according to IRS tax returns.
Rent vs buy
Asking rent, the median home, property tax, and months to a down payment.
Monthly costs
Groceries, getting around, utilities, healthcare and childcare at your household size.
Daily life
Homicide and firearm death rates, heat, cars and commute.
Kids
Public-school enrollment, pupil–teacher ratio, bedrooms and childcare.
Getting there
Typical cost to get here, then leftover after tax and rent — not a moving-company directory.
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.
Did people actually move from New Orleans to Lafayette?
When IRS county-to-county data covers this pair, the page lists how many households made the New Orleans → Lafayette move and their average AGI. Leftover after tax and rent is shown for the same household on both sides.