Phoenix, AZ vs New Orleans, LA
Moving from Phoenix to New Orleans? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($448,352 → $261,414 median home) and taxes.
Phoenix vs New Orleans 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 Phoenix, AZ, you'd need about $87,120 in New Orleans, LA (−$12,880).
Livability — Phoenix, AZ: 62 · New Orleans, LA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,063 sqft in Phoenix vs 3,826 sqft in New Orleans ($242 vs $131 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Phoenix, AZ | New Orleans, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,904 | $19,464 | −$1,440 |
| Groceries | $4,919 | $4,650 | −$269 |
| Transportation | $3,960 | $4,475 | +$515 |
| Utilities | $1,668 | $1,560 | −$108 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $3,500 | +$1,700 |
| Taxes | $7,280 | $9,107 | +$1,827 |
| Total | $40,531 | $42,756 | +$2,225 |
Side by side
| Metric | Phoenix, AZ | New Orleans, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.7 | 91.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.88% | 6.72% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.7% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.96 | $5.19 |
| Median home price | $448,352 | $261,414 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.7% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $242 | $131 |
| Median rent | $1,742 | $1,622 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 0.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,500 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.68% | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $3,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $1,000 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.5 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $54 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $108 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 104 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 41 | 43 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 7.2 | 63.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 85% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |