SalaryCompareTool

San Diego, CA vs Lafayette, LA

Moving from San Diego to Lafayette? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($946,365 → $202,312 median home) and taxes.

San Diego vs Lafayette at a glance

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

San Diego, CA Lafayette, LA Cost-of-living index San Diego, CA — Cost-of-living index: 111 111 Lafayette, LA — Cost-of-living index: 88 88 Median home price San Diego, CA — Median home price: $946k $946k Lafayette, LA — Median home price: $202k $202k Price per sqft San Diego, CA — Price per sqft: $631 $631 Lafayette, LA — Price per sqft: $101 $101 Median rent San Diego, CA — Median rent: $2,951 $2,951 Lafayette, LA — Median rent: $1,371 $1,371 Combined sales tax San Diego, CA — Combined sales tax: 8.8% 8.8% Lafayette, LA — Combined sales tax: 9.6% 9.6% Property tax rate San Diego, CA — Property tax rate: 0.72% 0.72% Lafayette, LA — Property tax rate: 0.49% 0.49% Violent crime /100k San Diego, CA — Violent crime /100k: 500 500 Lafayette, LA — Violent crime /100k: 630 630 Electricity ¢/kWh San Diego, CA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 35.3 35.3 Lafayette, LA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 14.4 14.4 Avg commute (min) San Diego, CA — Avg commute (min): 26 26 Lafayette, LA — Avg commute (min): 26 26 Avg summer high °F San Diego, CA — Avg summer high °F: 84° 84° Lafayette, LA — Avg summer high °F: 92° 92° Avg winter low °F San Diego, CA — Avg winter low °F: 45° 45° Lafayette, LA — Avg winter low °F: 43° 43°

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in San Diego, CA, you'd need about $79,061 in Lafayette, LA (−$20,939).

Livability — San Diego, CA: 44 · Lafayette, LA: 72 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 793 sqft in San Diego vs 4,941 sqft in Lafayette ($631 vs $101 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategorySan Diego, CALafayette, LADifference
Housing $35,412 $16,452 −$18,960
Groceries $5,112 $4,650 −$462
Transportation $5,125 $4,475 −$650
Utilities $3,804 $1,560 −$2,244
Insurance $1,500 $3,500 +$2,000
Taxes $21,601 $8,509 −$13,092
Total $72,554 $39,146 −$33,408

Side by side

MetricSan Diego, CALafayette, LA
Cost-of-living index110.787.6
Unemployment rate6.34%5.97%
Population growth (5-yr)0.2%-1.6%
Air quality (median AQI)7151
Big Mac price (est.)$6.30$4.98
Median home price$946,365$202,312
Home price ÷ income9.8×3.5×
1-yr home appreciation-1.1%2.1%
Price per square foot$631$101
Median rent$2,951$1,371
Total tax burden (% income)13.5%9.1%
Combined sales tax8.82%9.56%
Capital gains tax13.30%4.25%
Property tax rate0.72%0.49%
Healthcare (annual)$7,200$6,600
Childcare (annual, infant)$19,000$8,000
Vehicle property tax0.65%0.10%
Avg commute (min)2626
Home insurance / yr$1,500$3,500
Auto insurance / yr$2,400$2,900
Flood insurance / yr$750$1,000
Earthquake insurance / yr$950$100
Electricity ¢/kWh35.314.4
Gas $/gal4.852.95
Violent crime /100k500630
Avg summer high °F8492
Avg winter low °F4543
Permit difficulty (1–5)52

Ad · affiliate links