Overall
- Lafayette
- 87.2
Diff -26.9 RPP
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach vs Lafayette
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Lafayette is 23.6% less expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach.
23.6% less expensive
Lafayette, LA is 23.6% less expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.2 vs 114.2). A $100,000 salary in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach buys about the same as $76,395 in Lafayette; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 114.2 (Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach) vs 87.2 (Lafayette)
- $100k in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach ≈ $76,395 purchasing power in Lafayette
- Rents drives the gap (-96.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:LA 114.2→87.2
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-STEEP
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE FL × LA
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-STEEP Steep PP convert
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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach would need to be in Lafayette for the same purchasing power:
| In Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | In Lafayette | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $38,198 | $-11,802 |
| $75,000 | $57,296 | $-17,704 |
| $100,000 | $76,395 | $-23,605 |
| $150,000 | $114,593 | $-35,407 |
$ in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach = in Lafayette
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (114.2 → 87.2), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL and Lafayette, LA sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 26.9 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach is above 100 while Lafayette is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Lafayette 96.7 points lower than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach. 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.
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 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach corresponds to $76,395 in Lafayette.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Lafayette
- 93.7
Diff -9.9 RPP
Services
- Lafayette
- 71.2
Diff -26.0 RPP
Rents
- Lafayette
- 58.8
Diff -96.7 RPP
| Category | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | Lafayette | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 114.2 | 87.2 | -26.9 |
| Goods | 103.6 | 93.7 | -9.9 |
| Services | 97.2 | 71.2 | -26.0 |
| Rents | 155.6 | 58.8 | -96.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 114.2
Lafayette 87.2
Goods
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 103.6
Lafayette 93.7
Services
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 97.2
Lafayette 71.2
Rents
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 155.6
Lafayette 58.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach
114.2
Cost Index
Lafayette
87.2
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lafayette more expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach?
Lafayette is 23.6% less expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach. The overall cost index is 87.2 vs 114.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Lafayette equals $100K in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach?
A $100,000 salary in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach has the same purchasing power as $76,395 in Lafayette. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach and Lafayette?
Rents in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach are indexed at 155.6 while Lafayette is at 58.8 (national average = 100). Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 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.