Providence, RI vs Lafayette, LA
Moving from Providence to Lafayette? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $202,312 median home) and taxes.
Providence 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 Providence, RI, you'd need about $86,250 in Lafayette, LA (−$13,750).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Lafayette, LA: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 4,941 sqft in Lafayette ($328 vs $101 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Lafayette, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $16,452 | −$9,504 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $4,650 | −$271 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $4,475 | +$600 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $1,560 | −$1,500 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $3,500 | +$1,800 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $8,509 | −$4,612 |
| Total | $52,634 | $39,146 | −$13,487 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Lafayette, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 87.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 5.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | -1.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $4.98 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $202,312 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | 2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $101 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $1,371 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $3,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $1,000 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $92 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $80 | $108 |
| Home internet / mo | $67 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 43 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 47.5 | 63.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 36.6 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |