Portland, OR vs Lafayette, LA
Moving from Portland to Lafayette? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $202,312 median home) and taxes.
Portland 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 Portland, OR, you'd need about $82,045 in Lafayette, LA (−$17,955).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · Lafayette, LA: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 4,941 sqft in Lafayette ($325 vs $101 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | Lafayette, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $16,452 | −$5,112 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,650 | −$590 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $4,475 | +$795 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,560 | −$144 |
| Insurance | $900 | $3,500 | +$2,600 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $8,509 | −$5,873 |
| Total | $47,470 | $39,146 | −$8,324 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | Lafayette, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 87.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 5.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | -1.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 38 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $4.98 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $202,312 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $101 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,371 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $3,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $1,000 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 43 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |