Overall
- Hattiesburg
- 87.6
- Lafayette
- 87.2
Diff -0.4 RPP
Hattiesburg vs Lafayette
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lafayette is 0.5% less expensive than Hattiesburg.
0.5% less expensive
Lafayette, LA is 0.5% less expensive than Hattiesburg, MS on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.2 vs 87.6). A $100,000 salary in Hattiesburg buys about the same as $99,516 in Lafayette; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.6 (Hattiesburg) vs 87.2 (Lafayette)
- $100k in Hattiesburg ≈ $99,516 purchasing power in Lafayette
- Services drives the gap (-5.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MS:LA 87.6→87.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MS × LA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Hattiesburg
87.6
Cost Index
Lafayette
87.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Hattiesburg, MS and Lafayette, LA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services leads the difference, with Lafayette 5.7 points lower than Hattiesburg. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Hattiesburg to $99,516 in Lafayette, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Hattiesburg
- 96.2
- Lafayette
- 93.7
Diff -2.5 RPP
Services
- Hattiesburg
- 76.9
- Lafayette
- 71.2
Diff -5.7 RPP
Rents
- Hattiesburg
- 60.1
- Lafayette
- 58.8
Diff -1.2 RPP
| Category | Hattiesburg | Lafayette | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.6 | 87.2 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 93.7 | -2.5 |
| Services | 76.9 | 71.2 | -5.7 |
| Rents | 60.1 | 58.8 | -1.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Hattiesburg 87.6
Lafayette 87.2
Goods
Hattiesburg 96.2
Lafayette 93.7
Services
Hattiesburg 76.9
Lafayette 71.2
Rents
Hattiesburg 60.1
Lafayette 58.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Hattiesburg would need to be in Lafayette for the same purchasing power:
| In Hattiesburg | In Lafayette | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,758 | $-242 |
| $75,000 | $74,637 | $-363 |
| $100,000 | $99,516 | $-484 |
| $150,000 | $149,274 | $-726 |
$ in Hattiesburg = in Lafayette
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.6 → 87.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lafayette more expensive than Hattiesburg?
Lafayette is 0.5% less expensive than Hattiesburg. The overall cost index is 87.2 vs 87.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lafayette equals $100K in Hattiesburg?
A $100,000 salary in Hattiesburg has the same purchasing power as $99,516 in Lafayette. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Hattiesburg and Lafayette?
Rents in Hattiesburg are indexed at 60.1 while Lafayette is at 58.8 (national average = 100). Hattiesburg has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.