Jacksonville, FL vs Lafayette, LA
Moving from Jacksonville to Lafayette? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,994 → $202,312 median home) and taxes.
Jacksonville vs Lafayette 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 Jacksonville, FL, you'd need about $87,865 in Lafayette, LA (−$12,135).
Livability — Jacksonville, FL: 69 · Lafayette, LA: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Jacksonville vs 4,941 sqft in Lafayette ($191 vs $101 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Jacksonville, FL | Lafayette, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,412 | $16,452 | −$3,960 |
| Groceries | $4,813 | $4,650 | −$163 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $4,475 | −$325 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,560 | −$96 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $3,500 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $4,713 | $8,509 | +$3,796 |
| Total | $40,594 | $39,146 | −$1,448 |
Side by side
| Metric | Jacksonville, FL | Lafayette, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.6 | 87.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.54% | 5.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 11.4% | -1.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $4.98 |
| Median home price | $352,994 | $202,312 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.7% | 2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $101 |
| Median rent | $1,701 | $1,371 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $3,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,000 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $108 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 43 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 47.6 | 63.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 63% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |