Lafayette, LA vs Atlanta, GA
Moving from Lafayette to Atlanta? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($202,312 → $382,938 median home) and taxes.
Lafayette vs Atlanta 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 Lafayette, LA, you'd need about $114,766 in Atlanta, GA (+$14,766).
Livability — Lafayette, LA: 72 · Atlanta, GA: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,941 sqft in Lafayette vs 2,677 sqft in Atlanta ($101 vs $187 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lafayette, LA | Atlanta, GA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,452 | $22,080 | +$5,628 |
| Groceries | $4,650 | $4,926 | +$276 |
| Transportation | $4,475 | $3,515 | −$960 |
| Utilities | $1,560 | $1,656 | +$96 |
| Insurance | $3,500 | $2,100 | −$1,400 |
| Taxes | $8,509 | $10,533 | +$2,024 |
| Total | $39,146 | $44,810 | +$5,664 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lafayette, LA | Atlanta, GA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 87.6 | 100.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.97% | 5.04% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.6% | 6.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.98 | $5.72 |
| Median home price | $202,312 | $382,938 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.5× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.1% | -2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $101 | $187 |
| Median rent | $1,371 | $1,840 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.56% | 7.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 5.39% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 0.85% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.10% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 32 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,500 | $2,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,000 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.15 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $74 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $108 | $123 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $88 |
| Violent crime /100k | 630 | 370 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 43 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 63.4 | 50.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 2.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |