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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Early in your career, the right city accelerates everything: salary growth, networking, savings. We ranked 4 cities in Louisiana for young professionals, weighting income, job market depth, and transport. New Orleans leads with income of $55,339 and 364,136 residents.
Early in your career, the right city accelerates everything: salary growth, networking, savings. We ranked 4 cities in Louisiana for young professionals, weighting income, job market depth, and transport. New Orleans leads with income of $55,339 and 364,136 residents.
For young professionals, we weight income potential highest (20pts) — early career earnings compound over decades. Population comes next (15pts) as a proxy for job market depth: more employers means more opportunity. Transport costs (10pts) matter because most early-career workers are car-dependent. New Orleans leads with $55,339 median income and 364,136 residents.
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.
It checks most boxes — but the healthcare costs are the asterisk. In New Orleans, the healthcare index sits at 99 — not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing about.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
#1 Ranked: New Orleans — cost index 95, rent $1,625/mo, income $55,339
Young-professional scoring: income $55,339, population 364,136 (job market depth), transport index 99
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Orleans | 95 | $1,625 | Details |
| 2 | Lafayette | 75 | $1,279 | Details |
| 3 | Baton Rouge | 77 | $1,312 | Details |
| 4 | Shreveport | 68 | $1,170 | Details |
364,136 residents · Louisiana
Why New Orleans ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 95 on the cost index, residents save roughly 16% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,625/month while the median household pulls in $55,339/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 95, though Healthcare (99) lags behind. Home prices average $239,751 — $227,619 below the national median (which, to be fair, is a metric that favors smaller cities).
121,467 residents · Louisiana
The #2 spot goes to Lafayette, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,279/month — we had to double-check this one — — 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
A closer look at Baton Rouge: the cost index of 77 breaks down to a Housing index of 77 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 95 (weakest). Median rent is $1,312/month — 31% below the national median — while household income sits at $49,944, meaning locals spend about 32% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median.
177,959 residents · Louisiana
Here's Shreveport by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). And in most cases, cost index: 68. Rent: $1,170/month. Income: $48,465/year. Home price: $134,461. Population: 177,959. The strongest category is Housing at 68; the most expensive is Healthcare at 94. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $8,700 per year vs. the national median. Over a five-year window, that difference is life-changing (a figure that keeps climbing, by the way).
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to young professionals. 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.
New Orleans ranks #1 in Louisiana for this analysis with a cost index of 95 and median income of $55,339.
New Orleans scores highest for young professionals due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,625/mo, and competitive median income of $55,339.
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.
New Orleans (ranked #1) has a cost index of 95 and rent of $1,625/mo, while Shreveport (ranked #4) has a cost index of 68 and rent of $1,170/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 New Orleans is $1,625/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $270 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in New Orleans is $239,751, which is 4.3× 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.