Seattle, WA vs Lafayette, LA
Moving from Seattle to Lafayette? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $202,312 median home) and taxes.
Seattle 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 Seattle, WA, you'd need about $77,665 in Lafayette, LA (−$22,335).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Lafayette, LA: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 4,941 sqft in Lafayette ($417 vs $101 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Lafayette, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $16,452 | −$10,332 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,650 | −$755 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $4,475 | +$400 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,560 | +$12 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $3,500 | +$2,000 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $8,509 | −$317 |
| Total | $48,138 | $39,146 | −$8,992 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Lafayette, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 87.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 5.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | -1.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $4.98 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $202,312 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $101 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,371 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $3,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $1,000 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 43 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |