Philadelphia, PA vs Lafayette, LA
Moving from Philadelphia to Lafayette? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $202,312 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia, PA, you'd need about $85,532 in Lafayette, LA (−$14,468).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Lafayette, LA: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 4,941 sqft in Lafayette ($223 vs $101 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Lafayette, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $16,452 | −$6,516 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,650 | −$259 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $4,475 | +$1,035 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,560 | −$756 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $3,500 | +$2,300 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $8,509 | −$1,683 |
| Total | $45,025 | $39,146 | −$5,879 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Lafayette, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 87.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 5.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | -1.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $4.98 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $202,312 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $101 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,371 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $3,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $1,000 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 43 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |