What salary do you need to live in New Orleans, LA?

What housing costs in New Orleans

Census figures put the median gross rent in the New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro at $1,023 for a one-bedroom, $1,242 for a two-bedroom and $1,520 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $219 a month, and the third bedroom another $278.

Buying is the other half of the housing picture: owners put the median home in New Orleans-Metairie, LA at $260,200. With median household income at $62,655, a typical home costs 4.2× a typical income, close to the middle of the range across US metros.

The Regional Price Parity, BEA's index of local prices with the US at 100, is 92.6 here. Below 100 means a paycheck stretches further: $100,000 in New Orleans has the buying power of roughly $107,995 at national average prices.

Income needed for each grade in New Orleans

The salary lines for a two-bedroom household land at $34,000 for Tight, $67,000 for Okay and $135,000 for Comfortable. The gap between the Okay and Comfortable lines alone is $68,000, which says how much extra income it takes to make housing feel roomy here rather than merely workable.

Reaching Royal takes $394,000 — 2.9× the Comfortable line — because the last points come slowly once rent is already a small share.

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 New Orleans.

What different incomes look like in New Orleans

Choosing a bigger place in New Orleans at $75,000 trims the score from 51 to 45 without leaving Okay.

The two-bedroom column turns Comfortable at the $150,000 row. One row up, $100,000 scores 57.

New Orleans on the national list

On price level New Orleans is 226th of 387 (1 = most expensive); on two-bedroom rent it is 141st, and on median home value 194th. The two rankings agree, both falling near the middle.

For a sense of scale, the metros just above and below it on two-bedroom rent are Missoula, MT ($1,242) and Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC ($1,241).

New Orleans vs. the rest of Louisiana

Statewide, Louisiana's median two-bedroom rent is $1,055 and its median home value $216,500. New Orleans's rent is +18% against that, and its home value +20%; the price parity is 92.6 versus 88.2 for the state.

Run Louisiana's statewide medians through the same score and Comfortable begins at $103,000; New Orleans's line is +31% from that.

The nearest matches in Louisiana, judged on rent and price parity together, are Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA, Baton Rouge, LA, and Lake Charles, LA.

New Orleans's median income on the scale

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $62,655, which grades Tight (43) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. The Comfortable line is 115% above what the median household makes. For Louisiana as a whole, the median household income of $60,756 scores 50 against statewide rents. Household income can include more than one earner, so a single salary of the same size goes less far.

These are pre-tax estimates from public statistics, not financial advice.