Overall
- Monroe
- 83.6
Diff +1.5 RPP
Monroe vs Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux is 1.8% more expensive than Monroe.
1.8% more expensive
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA is 1.8% more expensive than Monroe, LA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.1 vs 83.6). A $100,000 salary in Monroe buys about the same as $101,802 in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 83.6 (Monroe) vs 85.1 (Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux)
- $100k in Monroe ≈ $101,802 purchasing power in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux
- Rents drives the gap (+8.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair LA:LA 83.6→85.1
PHOTO-FINISH · SAME-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- SAME-STATE Same state · LA
- 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.
Monroe
83.6
Cost Index
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux
85.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Monroe, LA and Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.5 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux is 8.5 points higher. But services and goods 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 Monroe corresponds to $101,802 in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Monroe
- 93.7
Diff 0.0 RPP
Services
- Monroe
- 72.2
Diff -0.9 RPP
Rents
- Monroe
- 42.8
Diff +8.5 RPP
| Category | Monroe | Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 83.6 | 85.1 | +1.5 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 93.7 | 0.0 |
| Services | 72.2 | 71.3 | -0.9 |
| Rents | 42.8 | 51.3 | +8.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Monroe 83.6
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 85.1
Goods
Monroe 93.7
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 93.7
Services
Monroe 72.2
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 71.3
Rents
Monroe 42.8
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 51.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Monroe would need to be in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux for the same purchasing power:
| In Monroe | In Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,901 | +$901 |
| $75,000 | $76,351 | +$1,351 |
| $100,000 | $101,802 | +$1,802 |
| $150,000 | $152,702 | +$2,702 |
$ in Monroe = in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (83.6 → 85.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux more expensive than Monroe?
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux is 1.8% more expensive than Monroe. The overall cost index is 85.1 vs 83.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux equals $100K in Monroe?
A $100,000 salary in Monroe has the same purchasing power as $101,802 in Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Monroe and Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux?
Rents in Monroe are indexed at 42.8 while Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux is at 51.3 (national average = 100). Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 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.