Accountants & Auditors salary in Lafayette, LA
Median pay for accountants & auditors in Lafayette, LA: $64,390/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $44,970 – $104,700 · about 1,240 employed locally
Below the typical metro median ($74,290) by −$9,900 (-13%).
What it's really worth in Lafayette
With Lafayette's cost of living at 88 (US=100), that $64,390 has the buying power of about $73,544 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $58,150 · median home $202,312 · median rent $1,371/mo.
How Lafayette ranks for this job
On raw pay, Lafayette, LA is 162nd of the 187 metros we hold accountants & auditors wages for. Once Lafayette's cost of living is applied, it ranks 143rd.
Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Lafayette is one of the places where accountants & auditors gain ground in real terms, because local costs are low relative to what the job pays.
What that salary buys in Lafayette
A median home in Lafayette, LA costs $202,312 — about 3.1× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.
Median rent of $1,371/mo works out at 26% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.
Where accountants & auditors earn more
Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Lafayette.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Lafayette | Rent vs Lafayette |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $113,980 | +77% | 2.6× |
| San Francisco, CA | $103,990 | +62% | 2.4× |
| New York, NY | $103,900 | +61% | 2.6× |
| Washington, DC | $97,320 | +51% | 1.8× |
Same job elsewhere in LA
| Metro | Median pay | vs Lafayette | Rent vs Lafayette |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans, LA | $74,090 | +15% | 1.2× |
| Baton Rouge, LA | $67,790 | +5% | 1× |
| Shreveport, LA | $62,350 | −3% | 1× |
Staying in LA keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Other jobs in Lafayette
Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 187 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.