Lafayette, LA vs Philadelphia, PA
Moving from Lafayette to Philadelphia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($202,312 → $390,463 median home) and taxes.
Lafayette vs Philadelphia 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 $116,915 in Philadelphia, PA (+$16,915).
Livability — Lafayette, LA: 72 · Philadelphia, PA: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,941 sqft in Lafayette vs 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia ($101 vs $223 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lafayette, LA | Philadelphia, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,452 | $22,968 | +$6,516 |
| Groceries | $4,650 | $4,909 | +$259 |
| Transportation | $4,475 | $3,440 | −$1,035 |
| Utilities | $1,560 | $2,316 | +$756 |
| Insurance | $3,500 | $1,200 | −$2,300 |
| Taxes | $8,509 | $10,192 | +$1,683 |
| Total | $39,146 | $45,025 | +$5,879 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lafayette, LA | Philadelphia, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 87.6 | 102.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.97% | 6.12% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.6% | 2.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.98 | $5.82 |
| Median home price | $202,312 | $390,463 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.5× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.1% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $101 | $223 |
| Median rent | $1,371 | $1,914 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.56% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 1.61% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.10% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,500 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,000 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 630 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 43 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |