Orlando, FL vs Baton Rouge, LA
Moving from Orlando to Baton Rouge? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($387,733 → $248,176 median home) and taxes.
Orlando vs Baton Rouge 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 Orlando, FL, you'd need about $89,805 in Baton Rouge, LA (−$10,195).
Livability — Orlando, FL: 66 · Baton Rouge, LA: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,385 sqft in Orlando vs 4,029 sqft in Baton Rouge ($210 vs $124 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Orlando, FL | Baton Rouge, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,724 | $16,716 | −$7,008 |
| Groceries | $4,813 | $4,650 | −$163 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $4,475 | −$325 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,560 | −$96 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $3,500 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $4,915 | $8,854 | +$3,939 |
| Total | $44,108 | $39,755 | −$4,353 |
Side by side
| Metric | Orlando, FL | Baton Rouge, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.6 | 91.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.26% | 6.51% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 12.1% | 5.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.19 |
| Median home price | $387,733 | $248,176 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.1% | 1.5% |
| Price per square foot | $210 | $124 |
| Median rent | $1,977 | $1,393 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 0.56% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 27 |
| 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 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $108 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 43 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 51.5 | 63.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |