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Philadelphia, PA vs New Orleans, LA

Moving from Philadelphia to New Orleans? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $261,414 median home) and taxes.

Philadelphia vs New Orleans at a glance

Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.

Philadelphia, PA New Orleans, LA Cost-of-living index Philadelphia, PA — Cost-of-living index: 102 102 New Orleans, LA — Cost-of-living index: 91 91 Median home price Philadelphia, PA — Median home price: $390k $390k New Orleans, LA — Median home price: $261k $261k Price per sqft Philadelphia, PA — Price per sqft: $223 $223 New Orleans, LA — Price per sqft: $131 $131 Median rent Philadelphia, PA — Median rent: $1,914 $1,914 New Orleans, LA — Median rent: $1,622 $1,622 Combined sales tax Philadelphia, PA — Combined sales tax: 6.3% 6.3% New Orleans, LA — Combined sales tax: 9.6% 9.6% Property tax rate Philadelphia, PA — Property tax rate: 1.61% 1.61% New Orleans, LA — Property tax rate: 0.62% 0.62% Violent crime /100k Philadelphia, PA — Violent crime /100k: 390 390 New Orleans, LA — Violent crime /100k: 630 630 Electricity ¢/kWh Philadelphia, PA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 21.5 21.5 New Orleans, LA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 14.4 14.4 Avg commute (min) Philadelphia, PA — Avg commute (min): 29 29 New Orleans, LA — Avg commute (min): 26 26 Avg summer high °F Philadelphia, PA — Avg summer high °F: 85° 85° New Orleans, LA — Avg summer high °F: 92° 92° Avg winter low °F Philadelphia, PA — Avg winter low °F: 22° 22° New Orleans, LA — Avg winter low °F: 43° 43°

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Philadelphia, PA, you'd need about $89,089 in New Orleans, LA (−$10,911).

Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · New Orleans, LA: 68 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 3,826 sqft in New Orleans ($223 vs $131 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategoryPhiladelphia, PANew Orleans, LADifference
Housing $22,968 $19,464 −$3,504
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 $9,107 −$1,085
Total $45,025 $42,756 −$2,269

Side by side

MetricPhiladelphia, PANew Orleans, LA
Cost-of-living index102.491.2
Unemployment rate6.12%6.72%
Population growth (5-yr)2.8%0.3%
Air quality (median AQI)5348
Big Mac price (est.)$5.82$5.19
Median home price$390,463$261,414
Home price ÷ income4.6×4.2×
1-yr home appreciation2.5%2.8%
Price per square foot$223$131
Median rent$1,914$1,622
Total tax burden (% income)10.6%9.1%
Combined sales tax6.34%9.56%
Capital gains tax3.07%4.25%
Property tax rate1.61%0.62%
Healthcare (annual)$7,000$6,600
Childcare (annual, infant)$12,000$8,000
Vehicle property taxNone0.10%
Avg commute (min)2926
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 ¢/kWh21.514.4
Gas $/gal3.552.95
Violent crime /100k390630
Avg summer high °F8592
Avg winter low °F2243
Permit difficulty (1–5)32

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