Lafayette, LA vs Denver, CO
Moving from Lafayette to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($202,312 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Lafayette vs Denver 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 $120,805 in Denver, CO (+$20,805).
Livability — Lafayette, LA: 72 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,941 sqft in Lafayette vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($101 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lafayette, LA | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,452 | $22,920 | +$6,468 |
| Groceries | $4,650 | $5,079 | +$429 |
| Transportation | $4,475 | $4,050 | −$425 |
| Utilities | $1,560 | $1,788 | +$228 |
| Insurance | $3,500 | $2,800 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $8,509 | $9,828 | +$1,319 |
| Total | $39,146 | $46,464 | +$7,318 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lafayette, LA | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 87.6 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.97% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.6% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.98 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $202,312 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.5× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.1% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $101 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,371 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.56% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.10% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,500 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,000 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $108 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 630 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 43 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 63.4 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |