Overall
Diff +0.0 RPP
Lafayette vs Decatur
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Decatur is 0% more expensive than Lafayette.
0% more expensive
Decatur, AL is 0% more expensive than Lafayette, LA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.2 vs 87.2). A $100,000 salary in Lafayette buys about the same as $100,003 in Decatur; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.2 (Lafayette) vs 87.2 (Decatur)
- $100k in Lafayette ≈ $100,003 purchasing power in Decatur
- Services drives the gap (+13.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair LA:AL 87.2→87.2
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE LA × AL
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
Lafayette
87.2
Cost Index
Decatur
87.2
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Lafayette, LA and Decatur, AL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Decatur is 13.5 points higher. But rents move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
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 Lafayette to $100,003 in Decatur, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +2.7 RPP
Services
Diff +13.5 RPP
Rents
Diff -0.8 RPP
| Category | Lafayette | Decatur | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.2 | 87.2 | +0.0 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 96.4 | +2.7 |
| Services | 71.2 | 84.7 | +13.5 |
| Rents | 58.8 | 58.1 | -0.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lafayette 87.2
Decatur 87.2
Goods
Lafayette 93.7
Decatur 96.4
Services
Lafayette 71.2
Decatur 84.7
Rents
Lafayette 58.8
Decatur 58.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lafayette would need to be in Decatur for the same purchasing power:
| In Lafayette | In Decatur | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,002 | +$2 |
| $75,000 | $75,003 | +$3 |
| $100,000 | $100,003 | +$3 |
| $150,000 | $150,005 | +$5 |
$ in Lafayette = in Decatur
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.2 → 87.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Decatur more expensive than Lafayette?
Decatur is 0% more expensive than Lafayette. The overall cost index is 87.2 vs 87.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Decatur equals $100K in Lafayette?
A $100,000 salary in Lafayette has the same purchasing power as $100,003 in Decatur. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lafayette and Decatur?
Rents in Lafayette are indexed at 58.8 while Decatur is at 58.1 (national average = 100). Lafayette 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.