SalaryCompareTool

Seattle, WA vs New Orleans, LA

Moving from Seattle to New Orleans? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $261,414 median home) and taxes.

Seattle vs New Orleans at a glance

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

Seattle, WA New Orleans, LA Cost-of-living index Seattle, WA — Cost-of-living index: 113 113 New Orleans, LA — Cost-of-living index: 91 91 Median home price Seattle, WA — Median home price: $750k $750k New Orleans, LA — Median home price: $261k $261k Price per sqft Seattle, WA — Price per sqft: $417 $417 New Orleans, LA — Price per sqft: $131 $131 Median rent Seattle, WA — Median rent: $2,232 $2,232 New Orleans, LA — Median rent: $1,622 $1,622 Combined sales tax Seattle, WA — Combined sales tax: 9.4% 9.4% New Orleans, LA — Combined sales tax: 9.6% 9.6% Property tax rate Seattle, WA — Property tax rate: 0.88% 0.88% New Orleans, LA — Property tax rate: 0.62% 0.62% Violent crime /100k Seattle, WA — Violent crime /100k: 375 375 New Orleans, LA — Violent crime /100k: 630 630 Electricity ¢/kWh Seattle, WA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 14.4 14.4 New Orleans, LA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 14.4 14.4 Avg commute (min) Seattle, WA — Avg commute (min): 30 30 New Orleans, LA — Avg commute (min): 26 26 Avg summer high °F Seattle, WA — Avg summer high °F: 76° 76° New Orleans, LA — Avg summer high °F: 92° 92° Avg winter low °F Seattle, WA — Avg winter low °F: 37° 37° New Orleans, LA — Avg winter low °F: 43° 43°

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Seattle, WA, you'd need about $80,895 in New Orleans, LA (−$19,105).

Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · New Orleans, LA: 68 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 3,826 sqft in New Orleans ($417 vs $131 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategorySeattle, WANew Orleans, LADifference
Housing $26,784 $19,464 −$7,320
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 $9,107 +$281
Total $48,138 $42,756 −$5,382

Side by side

MetricSeattle, WANew Orleans, LA
Cost-of-living index112.791.2
Unemployment rate4.59%6.72%
Population growth (5-yr)7.1%0.3%
Air quality (median AQI)4748
Big Mac price (est.)$6.41$5.19
Median home price$750,279$261,414
Home price ÷ income7.0×4.2×
1-yr home appreciation-1.9%2.8%
Price per square foot$417$131
Median rent$2,232$1,622
Total tax burden (% income)10.7%9.1%
Combined sales tax9.38%9.56%
Capital gains tax7.00%4.25%
Property tax rate0.88%0.62%
Healthcare (annual)$6,600$6,600
Childcare (annual, infant)$16,000$8,000
Vehicle property taxNone0.10%
Avg commute (min)3026
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 ¢/kWh14.414.4
Gas $/gal4.552.95
Violent crime /100k375630
Avg summer high °F7692
Avg winter low °F3743
Permit difficulty (1–5)52
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