Lafayette, LA vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Lafayette to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($202,312 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Lafayette vs Detroit 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 $112,146 in Detroit, MI (+$12,146).
Livability — Lafayette, LA: 72 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,941 sqft in Lafayette vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($101 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lafayette, LA | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,452 | $18,000 | +$1,548 |
| Groceries | $4,650 | $4,896 | +$246 |
| Transportation | $4,475 | $4,575 | +$100 |
| Utilities | $1,560 | $2,316 | +$756 |
| Insurance | $3,500 | $1,300 | −$2,200 |
| Taxes | $8,509 | $9,547 | +$1,038 |
| Total | $39,146 | $40,634 | +$1,488 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lafayette, LA | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 87.6 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.97% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.6% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.98 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $202,312 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.5× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.1% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $101 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,371 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.56% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.10% | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,000 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $108 | $74 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 630 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 43 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 63.4 | 34.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 45.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 53% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |