What salary do you need to live in Lafayette, LA?

Rent, home values and prices in Lafayette

A one-bedroom in Lafayette rents for a median of $829 a month, utilities the tenant pays included; a two-bedroom goes for $964 and a three-bedroom for $1,118. Over a full year, the two-bedroom median comes to $11,568.

Homeowners in Lafayette report a median home value of $214,400. That works out to 3.5× the local median household income of $60,892, a mid-range ratio.

BEA's Regional Price Parity for the metro is 87.2, where 100 is the US average. In plain terms, the full basket of goods, services and housing costs 12.8% less than average, so $100,000 here buys roughly what $114,667 would at average US prices.

The salary lines for a two-bedroom in Lafayette

With a two-bedroom at the median rent, the score enters Tight at $24,000, Okay at $47,000 and Comfortable at $95,000 a year before tax. At the Comfortable line, a year of rent takes 12% of income and the median home is 2.3× income.

The Royal grade is within reach at $243,000 a year, where both rent and the median home price look small next to income.

Each figure is the lowest income, to the next $1,000, at which the calculator itself would show that grade for a two-bedroom in Lafayette.

Four salaries, three home sizes in Lafayette

On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 61 and a three-bedroom 56, both Okay; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.

Read down the two-bedroom column and the first Comfortable row is $100,000, consistent with the $95,000 line above.

Lafayette on the national list

Out of 387 metros, Lafayette has the 351st highest price parity and the 323rd highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it in the bottom 10% on overall prices and in the bottom quarter on rent.

For a sense of scale, the metros just above and below it on two-bedroom rent are Johnson City, TN ($964) and Hammond, LA ($962).

Lafayette next to Louisiana and similar metros

Compared with Louisiana as a whole, two-bedroom rent in Lafayette is 9% lower ($964 vs. $1,055) and the median home is about the same ($214,400 vs. $216,500).

The Louisiana figure for the Comfortable line, using state medians, is $103,000 against $95,000 for Lafayette.

Within Louisiana, the metros closest to Lafayette on rent and overall prices are Hammond, LA, Shreveport-Bossier City, LA, and Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA. Their Comfortable lines for two bedrooms sit at $90,000, $87,000, and $87,000.

Where the typical Lafayette household lands

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $60,892, which grades Okay (52) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. Reaching Comfortable would take $34,108 more than the median household earns. Statewide, the Louisiana median household ($60,756) grades Okay on the state's own medians. A household figure may pool several earners, unlike a single salary.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.