Overall
- Waco
- 92.5
- New Orleans-Metairie
- 92.6
Diff +0.0 RPP
Waco vs New Orleans-Metairie
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. New Orleans-Metairie is 0.1% more expensive than Waco.
0.1% more expensive
New Orleans-Metairie, LA is 0.1% more expensive than Waco, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.6 vs 92.5). A $100,000 salary in Waco buys about the same as $100,051 in New Orleans-Metairie; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 92.5 (Waco) vs 92.6 (New Orleans-Metairie)
- $100k in Waco ≈ $100,051 purchasing power in New Orleans-Metairie
- Services drives the gap (-9.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:LA 92.5→92.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TX × 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.
Waco
92.5
Cost Index
New Orleans-Metairie
92.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Waco, TX and New Orleans-Metairie, LA 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: New Orleans-Metairie is 9.7 points lower. 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Waco to $100,051 in New Orleans-Metairie, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Waco
- 93.8
- New Orleans-Metairie
- 93.7
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
- Waco
- 81.0
- New Orleans-Metairie
- 71.2
Diff -9.7 RPP
Rents
- Waco
- 83.5
- New Orleans-Metairie
- 86.0
Diff +2.5 RPP
| Category | Waco | New Orleans-Metairie | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.5 | 92.6 | +0.0 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 93.7 | -0.1 |
| Services | 81.0 | 71.2 | -9.7 |
| Rents | 83.5 | 86.0 | +2.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Waco 92.5
New Orleans-Metairie 92.6
Goods
Waco 93.8
New Orleans-Metairie 93.7
Services
Waco 81.0
New Orleans-Metairie 71.2
Rents
Waco 83.5
New Orleans-Metairie 86.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Waco would need to be in New Orleans-Metairie for the same purchasing power:
| In Waco | In New Orleans-Metairie | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,025 | +$25 |
| $75,000 | $75,038 | +$38 |
| $100,000 | $100,051 | +$51 |
| $150,000 | $150,076 | +$76 |
$ in Waco = in New Orleans-Metairie
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.5 → 92.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is New Orleans-Metairie more expensive than Waco?
New Orleans-Metairie is 0.1% more expensive than Waco. The overall cost index is 92.6 vs 92.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in New Orleans-Metairie equals $100K in Waco?
A $100,000 salary in Waco has the same purchasing power as $100,051 in New Orleans-Metairie. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Waco and New Orleans-Metairie?
Rents in Waco are indexed at 83.5 while New Orleans-Metairie is at 86.0 (national average = 100). New Orleans-Metairie 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.