Lafayette, LA vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Lafayette to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($202,312 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Lafayette vs Seattle 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 $128,757 in Seattle, WA (+$28,757).
Livability — Lafayette, LA: 72 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,941 sqft in Lafayette vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($101 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Lafayette, LA | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,452 | $26,784 | +$10,332 |
| Groceries | $4,650 | $5,405 | +$755 |
| Transportation | $4,475 | $4,075 | −$400 |
| Utilities | $1,560 | $1,548 | −$12 |
| Insurance | $3,500 | $1,500 | −$2,000 |
| Taxes | $8,509 | $8,826 | +$317 |
| Total | $39,146 | $48,138 | +$8,992 |
Side by side
| Metric | Lafayette, LA | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 87.6 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.97% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.6% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.98 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $202,312 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.5× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.1% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $101 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,371 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.56% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.10% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,500 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,000 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $108 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 630 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 43 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 63.4 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |