Lafayette composite
64.1 /100
Grade A · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Lafayette vs New Orleans
Lafayette, LA and New Orleans-Metairie, LA side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 64.1
- Lafayette Life Score
- A
- Lafayette grade
- 58.5
- New Orleans Life Score
- B+
- New Orleans grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Lafayette scores higher on 4 (cost of living, rent, safety, childcare) and New Orleans on 3 (wages, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Lafayette New Orleans ◗
cost of living
91
58
wages
10
53
rent
99
47
safety
30
29
schools
66
67
childcare
85
84
environment
96
97
Lafayette and New Orleans differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Lafayette has a cost-of-living index of 87.2 vs New Orleans's 92.6 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $57,165 in Lafayette and $64,688 in New Orleans. A 2-bedroom averages $880/mo vs $1,331/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Lafayette vs New Orleans Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Lafayette and New Orleans works out to $5,412 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Lafayette carries the same local purchasing power as $106,178 in New Orleans - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 410.0 per 100,000 residents in LA vs 410.0 in LA, with property-crime rates of 1772.7 and 1772.7 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: LA lists 1,330 public schools at a 13.6:1 student-teacher ratio, while LA lists 1,330 schools at 13.6:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $7,396/yr in the Lafayette area versus $7,396/yr in New Orleans - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Lafayette and New Orleans are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
New Orleans composite
58.5 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
1 pts
New Orleans cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
1 pts
Lafayette safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Lafayette
Lafayette composite (Grade A)
New Orleans
New Orleans composite (Grade B+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Lafayette | New Orleans |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 87.2 | 92.6 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 93.7 |
| Services | 71.2 | 71.2 |
| Rents | 58.8 | 86.0 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in New Orleans gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Lafayette?
$
Equivalent in New Orleans:
$106,178
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Lafayette: 87.2, New Orleans: 92.6, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Lafayette | New Orleans |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $607/mo | $964/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $671/mo | $1,113/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $880/mo | $1,331/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,055/mo | $1,701/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,194/mo | $1,996/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Lafayette | New Orleans |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $57,165 | $64,688 |
| Total Employment | 163,850 | 428,400 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Lafayette (LA) | New Orleans (LA) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 410.0 | 410.0 |
| Property Crime | 1772.7 | 1772.7 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | LA | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,330 | 1,330 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 13.6:1 | 13.6:1 |
| Charter Schools | 11.4% | 11.4% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | LA | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,396/yr | $7,396/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,237/yr | $7,237/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,111/yr | $7,111/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | LA | LA |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 467 | 467 |
| Water Systems | 815 | 815 |
| Superfund Sites | 29 | 29 |
| Water Violations | 14,536 | 14,536 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Lafayette | New Orleans |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 46.0 | 49.0 |
| Good Air Days | 64.1% | 51.8% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 2 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | LA | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 10/100 | 10/100 |
| Total Violations | 115,060 | 115,060 |
| Health-Based Violations | 62,164 | 62,164 |
| Systems with Violations | 92.5% | 92.5% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | LA | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 47/100 | 47/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 53.1% | 53.1% |
| HPSA Designations | 523 | 523 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | LA | LA |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 47/100 | 47/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 62.4 | 62.4 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 56.8 | 56.8 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lafayette more expensive than New Orleans? ▼
Lafayette has a cost of living index of 87.2 compared to New Orleans's 92.6 (national average = 100). New Orleans is 5.4 points above Lafayette on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Lafayette and New Orleans? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $880/mo in Lafayette vs $1,331/mo in New Orleans, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $607/mo to $964/mo.
How do salaries compare between Lafayette and New Orleans? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $57,165 in Lafayette and $64,688 in New Orleans, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Lafayette has the same purchasing power as $106,178 in New Orleans.
Is Lafayette or New Orleans safer? ▼
At the state level, LA has a violent crime rate of 410.0 per 100,000 residents compared to LA's 410.0 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1772.7 vs 1772.7 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Lafayette and New Orleans? ▼
LA has 1,330 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.6:1, while LA has 1,330 schools at 13.6:1. Charter schools make up 11.4% of LA schools vs 11.4% in LA. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare