Physician Assistants salary in Lafayette, LA
Median pay for physician assistants in Lafayette, LA: $118,450/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $79,710 – $153,920 · about 110 employed locally
Below the typical metro median ($125,700) by −$7,250 (-6%).
What it's really worth in Lafayette
With Lafayette's cost of living at 88 (US=100), that $118,450 has the buying power of about $135,289 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 131st of the 180 metros we hold physician assistants wages for. Once Lafayette's cost of living is applied, it ranks 56th.
Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Lafayette is one of the places where physician assistants 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 1.7× 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 14% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.
Where physician assistants 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 | $208,000 | +76% | 2.6× |
| Vallejo, CA | $174,670 | +47% | 1.8× |
| Modesto, CA | $171,600 | +45% | 1.5× |
| San Francisco, CA | $171,470 | +45% | 2.4× |
Same job elsewhere in LA
| Metro | Median pay | vs Lafayette | Rent vs Lafayette |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans, LA | $127,420 | +8% | 1.2× |
| Shreveport, LA | $126,780 | +7% | 1× |
| Baton Rouge, LA | $123,290 | +4% | 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 180 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.