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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The broader context shifts things: State context matters: Louisiana's 4 cities average a 79 cost index with $1,347/month median rent and $53,801 household income. And on balance, cajun culture and below-average costs. Look at the property tax column — one city blows the rest away.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shreveport | 68 | $1,170 | Details |
| 2 | Baton Rouge | 77 | $1,312 | Details |
| 3 | Lafayette | 75 | $1,279 | Details |
| 4 | New Orleans | 95 | $1,625 | Details |
#1 Ranked: Shreveport — cost index 68, rent $1,170/mo, income $48,465
Shreveport rent up 3% over the past year
Student-budget scoring: rent $1,170/mo, food index 89, cost index 68 — survival-level affordability
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
The broader context shifts things: State context matters: Louisiana's 4 cities average a 79 cost index with $1,347/month median rent and $53,801 household income. And on balance, cajun culture and below-average costs. Look at the property tax column — one city blows the rest away.
Student life means every dollar counts. We scored 4 cities across Louisiana for rent, food, and cost of living. Shreveport (rent $1,170/mo, cost index 68) ranks #1 for 2026.
You could spend hours on Zillow. Or you could start with this number: 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. That's not something you see often in the data.
The #1 spot goes to Shreveport, and the breakdown explains why. It lines up with what you'd expect. 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.
Student affordability boils down to three survival metrics: rent under $1,200/month (25pts), overall cost index (20pts), and food costs (10pts). Shreveport leads at $1,170/month rent with a food index of 89 — 11% below the national food cost baseline. Baton Rouge is close behind at $1,312/month.
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.
177,959 residents · Louisiana
The #1 spot goes to Shreveport, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,170/month — this is the part where it gets real — — 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 (your mileage may vary — literally).
219,573 residents · Louisiana
Here's Baton Rouge by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 77. Rent: $1,312/month. Income: $49,944/year. Home price: $224,899. Population: 219,573. The strongest category is Housing at 77; the most expensive is Healthcare at 95. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $6,996 per year vs. the national median. That's a margin of safety most budgets don't have.
121,467 residents · Louisiana
What does daily life actually cost in Lafayette? Start with the 25% rent-to-income ratio — tight but manageable for most households. On the category level, Housing (index 75) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 95) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $61,454 — we had to double-check this one — and homes at $219,057 round out a profile that ranks #3 for clear reasons.
364,136 residents · Louisiana
New Orleans earns its position at #4 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 95 cost index sits 16 points below the national baseline, and the $55,339 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $239,751 — $227,619 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 95, while Healthcare trails at 99.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to students. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Louisiana by this personalized metric. 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.
Shreveport scores highest for students 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 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.