Overall
87.2
Cheap
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Lafayette, LA
Cost-of-living indicators for Lafayette, LA, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 87.2
- Overall RPP
- #351
- of 387 metros
- 58.8
- Rents RPP
- $115K
- $100K national buys
Lafayette ranks #351 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 2.4 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Decatur
The verdict
Lafayette costs less than 91% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 87.2, 12.8% below the national average, with rents the biggest swing at 58.8.
- bottom 9%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 93.7
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 71.2
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $114,667 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $87,209.
Lafayette vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
87 Bottom 9% higher than 9% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Lafayette cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
58.8 RPP
- Services
Services
71.2 RPP
- Overall
Overall
87.2 RPP
- Goods
Goods
93.7 RPP
What this shows Lafayette's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 58.8 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 71.2. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Lafayette's cost comes from
Metros near Lafayette's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Lafayette (Lafayette, this metro): goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 58.8
- Decatur: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 58.1
- Dubuque: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 64
- Parkersburg: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 45.9
- Waterloo: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 63.1
- Minot: goods RPP 95.7, rents RPP 63.2
- Youngstown: goods RPP 93.6, rents RPP 53.4
Price Index Summary
Goods
93.7
Below avg
Services
71.2
Cheap
Rents
58.8
Cheap
Housing-led affordability profile
How Lafayette's cost structure works
Housing is the strongest affordability offset in Lafayette: rents index at 58.8, the component furthest below the national benchmark. That does not make every local expense low, but it is the clearest explanation for the metro's overall RPP of 87.2.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Lawton, OK, Morristown, TN, Cleveland, TN. They resemble Lafayette across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Lafayette's overall index has fallen by 2.4 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$87,209
in Lafayette, LA purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$43,605
$75,000 nationally
$65,407
$125,000 nationally
$109,011
$150,000 nationally
$130,814
$200,000 nationally
$174,418
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
B
86/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability B
86th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Lafayette's overall RPP fell -0.3 points, from 87.6 in 2023 to 87.2 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 76.2 to 71.2. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending downward, decreasing by 2.4 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2014, when the index jumped 2.6 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Lafayette overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 89.6 |
| 2009 | 89.9 |
| 2010 | 90.8 |
| 2011 | 92.1 |
| 2012 | 93.6 |
| 2013 | 91.7 |
| 2014 | 94.3 |
| 2015 | 93.2 |
| 2016 | 93.8 |
| 2017 | 92.4 |
| 2018 | 90.8 |
| 2019 | 90.4 |
| 2020 | 90.4 |
| 2021 | 91.3 |
| 2022 | 89.8 |
| 2023 | 87.6 |
| 2024 | 87.2 |
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Lafayette's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Lawton, OK
Goods 93.8 · Services 73.0 · Rents 57.4 Morristown, TN
Goods 96.2 · Services 72.4 · Rents 59.0 Cleveland, TN
Goods 96.2 · Services 72.3 · Rents 60.3 Hot Springs, AR
Goods 93.6 · Services 74.3 · Rents 57.3 Jackson, TN
Goods 96.2 · Services 72.6 · Rents 56.6 Grand Island, NE
Goods 94.1 · Services 74.2 · Rents 61.7
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Lafayette, LA's index of 87.2.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
LA-relative analysis
Goods prices places Lafayette, LA near the bottom of LA's metros
Among the 10 LA metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Lafayette, LA ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Lafayette, LA only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 10
0th percentile in LA
Services prices
#7 of 10
30th percentile in LA
Rent prices
#4 of 10
60th percentile in LA
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within LA only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Lafayette, LA: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (87.2 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (58.8 here).
Other LA Metros
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA 92.7 New Orleans-Metairie, LA 92.6 Baton Rouge, LA 90.8 Lake Charles, LA 85.9 Alexandria, LA 85.7 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA 85.1
View all LA metros → Cheapest in LA → Most expensive in LA →
Compare to Other Metros
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
What this means for Lafayette
How to read Lafayette's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $114,667 in Lafayette. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 58.8, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Lafayette head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Lafayette, LA?
Lafayette, LA has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 87.2, meaning it is 12.8% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 93.7, services at 71.2, and rents at 58.8. It ranks #351 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Lafayette, LA to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $87,209 in Lafayette, LA. Conversely, $100K earned in Lafayette, LA has the purchasing power of $114,667 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Lafayette, LA?
Rents in Lafayette, LA are indexed at 58.8, which is 41.2% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Lafayette, LA getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Lafayette, LA's overall cost index changed by -2.4 points (from 89.6 to 87.2). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Lafayette, LA?
The priciest category in Lafayette, LA is goods at 93.7, 6.3% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is rents at 58.8, 41.2% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Lafayette, LA?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Decatur, Dubuque, Parkersburg-Vienna. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Lafayette, LA's 87.2.
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.