Baltimore, MD vs New Orleans, LA
Moving from Baltimore to New Orleans? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $261,414 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore vs New Orleans at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Baltimore, MD, you'd need about $88,380 in New Orleans, LA (−$11,620).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · New Orleans, LA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 3,826 sqft in New Orleans ($214 vs $131 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | New Orleans, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $19,464 | −$3,564 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $4,650 | −$425 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $4,475 | +$790 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $1,560 | −$828 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $3,500 | +$2,100 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $9,107 | −$2,477 |
| Total | $47,160 | $42,756 | −$4,404 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | New Orleans, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 91.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 6.72% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 48 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $5.19 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $261,414 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $131 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $1,622 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 0.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $3,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $1,000 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 43 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |