SalaryCompareTool

San Diego, CA vs New Orleans, LA

Moving from San Diego to New Orleans? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($946,365 → $261,414 median home) and taxes.

San Diego vs New Orleans at a glance

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

San Diego, CA New Orleans, LA Cost-of-living index San Diego, CA — Cost-of-living index: 111 111 New Orleans, LA — Cost-of-living index: 91 91 Median home price San Diego, CA — Median home price: $946k $946k New Orleans, LA — Median home price: $261k $261k Price per sqft San Diego, CA — Price per sqft: $631 $631 New Orleans, LA — Price per sqft: $131 $131 Median rent San Diego, CA — Median rent: $2,951 $2,951 New Orleans, LA — Median rent: $1,622 $1,622 Combined sales tax San Diego, CA — Combined sales tax: 8.8% 8.8% New Orleans, LA — Combined sales tax: 9.6% 9.6% Property tax rate San Diego, CA — Property tax rate: 0.72% 0.72% New Orleans, LA — Property tax rate: 0.62% 0.62% Violent crime /100k San Diego, CA — Violent crime /100k: 500 500 New Orleans, LA — Violent crime /100k: 630 630 Electricity ¢/kWh San Diego, CA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 35.3 35.3 New Orleans, LA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 14.4 14.4 Avg commute (min) San Diego, CA — Avg commute (min): 26 26 New Orleans, LA — Avg commute (min): 26 26 Avg summer high °F San Diego, CA — Avg summer high °F: 84° 84° New Orleans, LA — Avg summer high °F: 92° 92° Avg winter low °F San Diego, CA — Avg winter low °F: 45° 45° New Orleans, 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 $82,349 in New Orleans, LA (−$17,651).

Livability — San Diego, CA: 44 · New Orleans, LA: 68 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 793 sqft in San Diego vs 3,826 sqft in New Orleans ($631 vs $131 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategorySan Diego, CANew Orleans, LADifference
Housing $35,412 $19,464 −$15,948
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 $9,107 −$12,494
Total $72,554 $42,756 −$29,798

Side by side

MetricSan Diego, CANew Orleans, LA
Cost-of-living index110.791.2
Unemployment rate6.34%6.72%
Population growth (5-yr)0.2%0.3%
Air quality (median AQI)7148
Big Mac price (est.)$6.30$5.19
Median home price$946,365$261,414
Home price ÷ income9.8×4.2×
1-yr home appreciation-1.1%2.8%
Price per square foot$631$131
Median rent$2,951$1,622
Total tax burden (% income)13.5%9.1%
Combined sales tax8.82%9.56%
Capital gains tax13.30%4.25%
Property tax rate0.72%0.62%
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

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