Overall
Diff -0.2 RPP
Lafayette vs Minot
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Minot is 0.2% less expensive than Lafayette.
0.2% less expensive
Minot, ND is 0.2% less expensive than Lafayette, LA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.0 vs 87.2). A $100,000 salary in Lafayette buys about the same as $99,792 in Minot; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 87.2 (Lafayette) vs 87.0 (Minot)
- $100k in Lafayette ≈ $99,792 purchasing power in Minot
- Rents drives the gap (+4.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair LA:ND 87.2→87.0
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE LA × ND
- 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
Minot
87.0
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Lafayette, LA and Minot, ND are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Minot is 4.4 points higher. But rents and goods and services 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 housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Lafayette corresponds to $99,792 in Minot.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +2.0 RPP
Services
Diff +1.7 RPP
Rents
Diff +4.4 RPP
| Category | Lafayette | Minot | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.2 | 87.0 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 95.7 | +2.0 |
| Services | 71.2 | 72.9 | +1.7 |
| Rents | 58.8 | 63.2 | +4.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lafayette 87.2
Minot 87.0
Goods
Lafayette 93.7
Minot 95.7
Services
Lafayette 71.2
Minot 72.9
Rents
Lafayette 58.8
Minot 63.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lafayette would need to be in Minot for the same purchasing power:
| In Lafayette | In Minot | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,896 | $-104 |
| $75,000 | $74,844 | $-156 |
| $100,000 | $99,792 | $-208 |
| $150,000 | $149,689 | $-311 |
$ in Lafayette = in Minot
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.2 → 87.0), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Minot more expensive than Lafayette?
Minot is 0.2% less expensive than Lafayette. The overall cost index is 87.0 vs 87.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Minot equals $100K in Lafayette?
A $100,000 salary in Lafayette has the same purchasing power as $99,792 in Minot. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lafayette and Minot?
Rents in Lafayette are indexed at 58.8 while Minot is at 63.2 (national average = 100). Minot 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.