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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Look, Military veterans have earned every benefit — where do those benefits go furthest? We analyzed 4 cities in Louisiana: cost, state taxes, and supplemental healthcare. Baton Rouge — index 91, 4.25% state tax — leads.
#1 Ranked: Baton Rouge — cost index 91, rent $1,312/mo, income $49,944
Veteran scoring: cost index 91, state tax 4.25%, healthcare index 94 — preserving earned benefits
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baton Rouge | 91 | $1,312 | Details |
| 2 | Shreveport | 85 | $1,170 | Details |
| 3 | Lafayette | 90 | $1,279 | Details |
| 4 | New Orleans | 97 | $1,625 | Details |
Look, Military veterans have earned every benefit — where do those benefits go furthest? We analyzed 4 cities in Louisiana: cost, state taxes, and supplemental healthcare. Baton Rouge — index 91, 4.25% state tax — leads.
What does daily life actually cost in Baton Rouge? Start with the 32% rent-to-income ratio — stretched, especially for single earners. On the category level, Housing (index 78) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 94) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $49,944 and homes at $224,899 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons.
The short version: Baton Rouge stands out — but so do several runners-up that might fit your lifestyle better. And roughly speaking, treat this ranking as the starting line, not the finish. Every city links to a full profile. Every profile has salary data by profession. And the calculator lets you model your own numbers. That's how rankings become decisions. An outlier in the best sense.
219,573 residents · Louisiana
What does daily life actually cost in Baton Rouge? Start with the 32% rent-to-income ratio — stretched, especially for single earners. And as a general rule, on the category level, Housing (index 78) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 94) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $49,944 and homes at $224,899 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons.
177,959 residents · Louisiana
Dive into Shreveport's numbers: cost index 85 (27 points below national average), rent $1,170/month, income $48,465, and a home price of $134,461. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 62, while Healthcare runs 87. With 177,959 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
121,467 residents · Louisiana
Dive into Lafayette's numbers: cost index 90 (22 points below national average), rent $1,279/month, income $61,454, and a home price of $219,057. And from what we can tell, the city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 76, while Healthcare runs 93. With 121,467 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
364,136 residents · Louisiana
What does daily life actually cost in New Orleans? Start with the 35% rent-to-income ratio — stretched, especially for single earners. On the category level, Utilities (index 89) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 100) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $55,339 and homes at $239,751 round out a profile that ranks #4 for clear reasons (that's pre-tax, of course).
Baton Rouge ranks #1 in Louisiana for this analysis with a cost index of 91 and median income of $49,944.
Baton Rouge scores highest for military veterans due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,312/mo, and competitive median income of $49,944.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Baton Rouge (ranked #1) has a cost index of 91 and rent of $1,312/mo, while New Orleans (ranked #4) has a cost index of 97 and rent of $1,625/mo — a 6-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Baton Rouge is $1,312/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $583 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Baton Rouge is $224,899, which is 4.5× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
Louisiana has a 4.25% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 9.55%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.51%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.