Lafayette, LA vs Charlotte, NC
Moving from Lafayette to Charlotte? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($202,312 → $390,321 median home) and taxes.
Lafayette vs Charlotte 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 $111,159 in Charlotte, NC (+$11,159).
Livability — Lafayette, LA: 72 · Charlotte, NC: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,941 sqft in Lafayette vs 2,561 sqft in Charlotte ($101 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lafayette, LA | Charlotte, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,452 | $20,880 | +$4,428 |
| Groceries | $4,650 | $4,834 | +$184 |
| Transportation | $4,475 | $3,130 | −$1,345 |
| Utilities | $1,560 | $1,752 | +$192 |
| Insurance | $3,500 | $2,000 | −$1,500 |
| Taxes | $8,509 | $8,740 | +$231 |
| Total | $39,146 | $41,336 | +$2,190 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lafayette, LA | Charlotte, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 87.6 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.97% | 4.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.6% | 10.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.98 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $202,312 | $390,321 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.5× | 5.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.1% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $101 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,371 | $1,740 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.56% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.10% | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,500 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,000 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $108 | $78 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 630 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 43 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 63.4 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 3.5 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |