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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Dollar for dollar, few states match Louisiana's value. 4 out of 4 cities undercut the national cost index of 111. Leading the pack: Shreveport at index 68, where median rent of $1,170/month saves renters $8,700/year versus the national median.
#1 Ranked: Shreveport — cost index 68, rent $1,170/mo, income $48,465
Shreveport rent up 3% over the past year
4 of 4 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shreveport | 68 | $1,170 | Details |
| 2 | Lafayette | 75 | $1,279 | Details |
| 3 | Baton Rouge | 77 | $1,312 | Details |
| 4 | New Orleans | 95 | $1,625 | Details |
Dollar for dollar, few states match Louisiana's value. 4 out of 4 cities undercut the national cost index of 111. Leading the pack: Shreveport at index 68, where median rent of $1,170/month saves renters $8,700/year versus the national median.
Shreveport comes in at #1. Rent is $1,170 a month. Household income is $48,465. The cost of living index is 68. It lines up with what you'd expect.
Bottom line: Shreveport leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. And roughly speaking, 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. Can we talk about how broken the conversation around affordability is? A city gets labeled 'cheap' and suddenly everyone assumes there's a catch — bad schools, no jobs, nothing to do. But look at the income numbers here. Look at the cost categories. This isn't a budget consolation prize. It's a genuine alternative to the coastal rat race, and the data makes that case more convincingly than any think piece.
177,959 residents · Louisiana
The #1 spot goes to Shreveport, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,170/month — saving renters $8,700 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 68, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 94. A 29% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
121,467 residents · Louisiana
The #2 spot goes to Lafayette, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,279/month — saving renters $7,392 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 75, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 95. A 25% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
219,573 residents · Louisiana
At $1,312/month — and that's before you even look at taxes — for rent and a cost index of 77, Baton Rouge is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. That's a reasonable number. Income is $49,944. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is.
364,136 residents · Louisiana
A closer look at New Orleans: the cost index of 95 breaks down to a Housing index of 95 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 99 (weakest). Median rent is $1,625/month — 14% below the national median — while household income sits at $55,339, meaning locals spend about 35% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median.
Rent is the single largest expense for most households. We rank all tracked cities in Louisiana by median 1-bedroom rent (Zillow ZORI) from lowest to highest, filtering out any cities with incomplete data. 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 68 and 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 68 and rent of $1,170/mo, while New Orleans (ranked #4) has a cost index of 95 and rent of $1,625/mo — a 27-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.