St. Louis, MO vs Lafayette, LA
Moving from St. Louis to Lafayette? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($276,878 → $202,312 median home) and taxes.
St. Louis 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 St. Louis, MO, you'd need about $92,187 in Lafayette, LA (−$7,813).
Livability — St. Louis, MO: 65 · Lafayette, LA: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,161 sqft in St. Louis vs 4,941 sqft in Lafayette ($158 vs $101 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | St. Louis, MO | Lafayette, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,412 | $16,452 | −$960 |
| Groceries | $4,934 | $4,650 | −$284 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $4,475 | +$1,085 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,560 | +$48 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $3,500 | +$1,100 |
| Taxes | $10,488 | $8,509 | −$1,979 |
| Total | $40,136 | $39,146 | −$990 |
Side by side
| Metric | St. Louis, MO | Lafayette, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.0 | 87.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.35% | 5.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.3% | -1.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $4.98 |
| Median home price | $276,878 | $202,312 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | 2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $158 | $101 |
| Median rent | $1,451 | $1,371 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.26% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $3,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $1,000 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $108 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 43 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.7 | 63.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 16.6 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |