Lafayette, LA vs Houston, TX
Moving from Lafayette to Houston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($202,312 → $308,306 median home) and taxes.
Lafayette vs Houston 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 $113,913 in Houston, TX (+$13,913).
Livability — Lafayette, LA: 72 · Houston, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,941 sqft in Lafayette vs 3,406 sqft in Houston ($101 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lafayette, LA | Houston, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,452 | $19,668 | +$3,216 |
| Groceries | $4,650 | $5,085 | +$434 |
| Transportation | $4,475 | $3,675 | −$800 |
| Utilities | $1,560 | $1,836 | +$276 |
| Insurance | $3,500 | $3,600 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $8,509 | $7,399 | −$1,110 |
| Total | $39,146 | $41,263 | +$2,116 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lafayette, LA | Houston, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 87.6 | 99.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.97% | 5.96% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.6% | 7.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.98 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $202,312 | $308,306 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.5× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.1% | -2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $101 | $147 |
| Median rent | $1,371 | $1,639 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.56% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 1.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.10% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,500 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,000 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $108 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 630 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 43 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 63.4 | 55.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 59% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |