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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Shreveport rent up 3% over the past year. Rent in #1-ranked Shreveport has increased from $1,138 to $1,170/mo over the past 12 months — a 3% increase. Rising costs may erode its top ranking over time. This combination is rare — and valuable.
#1 Ranked: Shreveport — cost index 85, rent $1,170/mo, income $48,465
Shreveport rent up 3% over the past year
Singles scoring: rent $1,170/mo (solo housing), cost index 85, population 177,959 — livability on one income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Shreveport rent up 3% over the past year. Rent in #1-ranked Shreveport has increased from $1,138 to $1,170/mo over the past 12 months — a 3% increase. Rising costs may erode its top ranking over time. This combination is rare — and valuable.
No second income to fall back on. Our model scored 4 cities in Louisiana on solo-living metrics. Shreveport leads at index 85 with rent of $1,170/mo.
Shreveport earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 85 cost index sits 27 points below the national baseline, and the $48,465 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $134,461 — $332,909 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 62, while Healthcare trails at 87.
In plain English: (Tangentially — this is the kind of city where you can actually build equity on a median salary, which is increasingly rare.)
Put differently: Across Louisiana, the average cost of living index is 91 — 21 points below the national median. And from what we can tell, known for Cajun culture and below-average costs, the state offers 4 tracked cities with median rents averaging $1,347/month. That's $548 less than the national average of $1,895. Financially, that's significant.
Bottom line: Shreveport leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shreveport | 85 | $1,170 | Details |
| 2 | Lafayette | 90 | $1,279 | Details |
| 3 | New Orleans | 97 | $1,625 | Details |
| 4 | Baton Rouge | 91 | $1,312 | Details |
177,959 residents · Louisiana
Shreveport earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 85 cost index sits 27 points below the national baseline, and the $48,465 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $134,461 — $332,909 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. That's about what we'd expect given the state context. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 62, while Healthcare trails at 87 (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
121,467 residents · Louisiana
Here's Lafayette by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). And generally speaking, cost index: 90. Rent: $1,279/month. Income: $61,454/year. Home price: $219,057. Population: 121,467. The strongest category is Housing at 76; the most expensive is Healthcare at 93. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $7,392 per year vs. the national median. That's a margin of safety most budgets don't have.
364,136 residents · Louisiana
Here's New Orleans by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). And as far as the data shows, cost index: 97. Rent: $1,625/month. Income: $55,339/year. Home price: $239,751. Population: 364,136. The strongest category is Utilities at 89; the most expensive is Healthcare at 100. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $3,240 per year vs. the national median. Over a five-year window, that difference is life-changing. A real contender.
219,573 residents · Louisiana
No sugarcoating: Dive into Baton Rouge's numbers: cost index 91 (21 points below national average), rent $1,312/month, income $49,944, and a home price of $224,899. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 78, while Healthcare runs 94. With 219,573 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to singles. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Shreveport ranks #1 in Louisiana for this analysis with a cost index of 85 and median income of $48,465.
Shreveport scores highest for singles due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,170/mo, and competitive median income of $48,465.
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.
Shreveport (ranked #1) has a cost index of 85 and rent of $1,170/mo, while Baton Rouge (ranked #4) has a cost index of 91 and rent of $1,312/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 Shreveport is $1,170/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $725 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Shreveport is $134,461, which is 2.8× the local median income. That's within the standard 3.5× affordability rule for most local earners. 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.