Detroit, MI vs Baton Rouge, LA
Moving from Detroit to Baton Rouge? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($269,080 → $248,176 median home) and taxes.
Detroit vs Baton Rouge 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 Detroit, MI, you'd need about $92,918 in Baton Rouge, LA (−$7,082).
Livability — Detroit, MI: 62 · Baton Rouge, LA: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,066 sqft in Detroit vs 4,029 sqft in Baton Rouge ($163 vs $124 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Detroit, MI | Baton Rouge, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $16,716 | −$1,284 |
| Groceries | $4,896 | $4,650 | −$246 |
| Transportation | $4,575 | $4,475 | −$100 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,560 | −$756 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $3,500 | +$2,200 |
| Taxes | $9,547 | $8,854 | −$693 |
| Total | $40,634 | $39,755 | −$879 |
Side by side
| Metric | Detroit, MI | Baton Rouge, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 91.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.60% | 6.51% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 5.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.19 |
| Median home price | $269,080 | $248,176 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | 1.5% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $124 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,393 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.43% | 0.56% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.61% | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $3,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,700 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $1,000 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $74 | $108 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 43 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 34.3 | 63.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 45.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 53% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |