SalaryCompareTool

San Francisco, CA vs New Orleans, LA

Moving from San Francisco to New Orleans? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,149,215 → $261,414 median home) and taxes.

San Francisco vs New Orleans at a glance

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

San Francisco, CA New Orleans, LA Cost-of-living index San Francisco, CA — Cost-of-living index: 118 118 New Orleans, LA — Cost-of-living index: 91 91 Median home price San Francisco, CA — Median home price: $1149k $1149k New Orleans, LA — Median home price: $261k $261k Price per sqft San Francisco, CA — Price per sqft: $766 $766 New Orleans, LA — Price per sqft: $131 $131 Median rent San Francisco, CA — Median rent: $3,258 $3,258 New Orleans, LA — Median rent: $1,622 $1,622 Combined sales tax San Francisco, CA — Combined sales tax: 8.8% 8.8% New Orleans, LA — Combined sales tax: 9.6% 9.6% Property tax rate San Francisco, CA — Property tax rate: 0.72% 0.72% New Orleans, LA — Property tax rate: 0.62% 0.62% Violent crime /100k San Francisco, CA — Violent crime /100k: 500 500 New Orleans, LA — Violent crime /100k: 630 630 Electricity ¢/kWh San Francisco, CA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 35.3 35.3 New Orleans, LA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 14.4 14.4 Avg commute (min) San Francisco, CA — Avg commute (min): 33 33 New Orleans, LA — Avg commute (min): 26 26 Avg summer high °F San Francisco, CA — Avg summer high °F: 84° 84° New Orleans, LA — Avg summer high °F: 92° 92° Avg winter low °F San Francisco, 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 Francisco, CA, you'd need about $77,578 in New Orleans, LA (−$22,422).

Livability — San Francisco, CA: 35 · New Orleans, LA: 68 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 653 sqft in San Francisco vs 3,826 sqft in New Orleans ($766 vs $131 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategorySan Francisco, CANew Orleans, LADifference
Housing $39,096 $19,464 −$19,632
Groceries $5,761 $4,650 −$1,111
Transportation $5,125 $4,475 −$650
Utilities $3,804 $1,560 −$2,244
Insurance $1,500 $3,500 +$2,000
Taxes $24,108 $9,107 −$15,001
Total $79,394 $42,756 −$36,638

Side by side

MetricSan Francisco, CANew Orleans, LA
Cost-of-living index117.691.2
Unemployment rate5.22%6.72%
Population growth (5-yr)1.1%0.3%
Air quality (median AQI)5348
Big Mac price (est.)$6.69$5.19
Median home price$1,149,215$261,414
Home price ÷ income8.9×4.2×
1-yr home appreciation-0.8%2.8%
Price per square foot$766$131
Median rent$3,258$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)3326
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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