Lafayette, LA vs Boston, MA
Moving from Lafayette to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($202,312 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Lafayette vs Boston 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 $126,087 in Boston, MA (+$26,087).
Livability — Lafayette, LA: 72 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,941 sqft in Lafayette vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($101 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lafayette, LA | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,452 | $38,532 | +$22,080 |
| Groceries | $4,650 | $5,040 | +$390 |
| Transportation | $4,475 | $3,210 | −$1,265 |
| Utilities | $1,560 | $3,180 | +$1,620 |
| Insurance | $3,500 | $1,800 | −$1,700 |
| Taxes | $8,509 | $17,694 | +$9,185 |
| Total | $39,146 | $69,455 | +$30,309 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lafayette, LA | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 87.6 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.97% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.6% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.98 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $202,312 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.5× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.1% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $101 | $436 |
| Median rent | $1,371 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.56% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.10% | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,500 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,000 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $108 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $108 | $71 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 630 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 43 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 63.4 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |