Metro Life Score
Lafayette, LA
Top-5% composite Life Score — grade A, 96th percentile of the national corpus.
- 64.1
- Life Score / 100
- A
- Grade (curved)
- #14
- of 387 metros
- 96%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Lafayette is top-5% composite Life Score — #14 of 387 (64.1/100, grade A, 96th percentile). Carried by rent at 99/100; held back most by wages at 10/100.
- 96th
- composite percentile
- #14
- of 387 peers
- 90th
- cost dimension percentile
- 10th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · BALANCED · signature composite
Lafayette: top-third composite Life Score
Lafayette clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#14 of 387, 64.1/100, grade A, 96th percentile). Stamps TOP · BALANCED; cost FLOOR (90th) · wages LOW (10th). Rent at 99/100 carries the lead; Wages (10/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Lafayette, LA ranks #14 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #37 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 87.2 (rent-RPP 58.8). BLS median salary $57,165, 163,850 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $880/mo (studio $607).
FBI UCR (LA): 410 violent, 1773 property/100K. NCES: 13.6:1 ratio, 11.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,396/yr. EPA: 29 Superfund sites (LA).
Where Lafayette sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
64 Top 4% higher than 96% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 64.1 is built
Lafayette's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Lafayette scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are LA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Lafayette With...
Ranking Context
Lafayette outranks 96% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #11 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 64.3 | A |
| #12 | Owensboro, KY | 64.6 | A |
| #13 | Monroe, LA | 64.6 | A+ |
| #14 | Lafayette, LA | 64.1 | A |
| #15 | Lewiston, ID-WA | 64.1 | A |
| #16 | Lincoln, NE | 63.8 | A |
| #17 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 63.5 | A |
Quality vs. Affordability
Lafayette, LA's quality rank (top 4% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 10% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
LA Metro Scores
Read with Lafayette
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Lafayette (TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Lewiston, ID-WA
ABS(composite) peer at 64.1 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Cedar Rapids, IA
ABS(composite) peer at 64.3 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Lincoln, NE
ABS(composite) peer at 63.8 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Monroe, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 64.6 (Δ 0.5 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Decatur, AL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 90/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 91/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Lafayette, LA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Lafayette's top-third Life Score
Lafayette scores 64.1/100 overall, but Rent (99.2) and Wages (9.6) sit 89.6 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Lafayette's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Monroe is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Monroe
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.