Miami, FL vs Lafayette, LA
Moving from Miami to Lafayette? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($475,622 → $202,312 median home) and taxes.
Miami vs Lafayette 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 Miami, FL, you'd need about $78,111 in Lafayette, LA (−$21,889).
Livability — Miami, FL: 57 · Lafayette, LA: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,945 sqft in Miami vs 4,941 sqft in Lafayette ($257 vs $101 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Miami, FL | Lafayette, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $32,316 | $16,452 | −$15,864 |
| Groceries | $5,091 | $4,650 | −$441 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $4,475 | −$325 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,560 | −$96 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $3,500 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $5,772 | $8,509 | +$2,737 |
| Total | $53,835 | $39,146 | −$14,689 |
Side by side
| Metric | Miami, FL | Lafayette, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.1 | 87.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 5.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | -1.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.38 | $4.98 |
| Median home price | $475,622 | $202,312 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $257 | $101 |
| Median rent | $2,693 | $1,371 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $3,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,000 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 43 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |