Cost of living in Louisiana

Louisiana at a glance

Median rent

$1,064

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$60,756

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$216,500

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$1,180

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

26 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

6.3%

Census ACS, DP03

Louisiana's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 12% below the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Figures from the 2024 release of the Census American Community Survey, checked September 2026. Health, hazard and price-level readings name their own release beside them.

The three most populous counties in Louisiana

These are the most populous places in Louisiana, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• East Baton Rouge Parish

  Population

  453K

  Rent

  $1,147

  Household income

  $63,071

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $1,656

  Set as targetPlan

• Jefferson Parish

  Population

  431K

  Rent

  $1,190

  Household income

  $65,252

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $1,312

  Set as targetPlan

• Orleans Parish

  Population

  372K

  Rent

  $1,251

  Household income

  $56,631

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $2,606

  Set as targetPlan

Louisiana, worth the trip

Admitted to the Union on April 30, 1812, as the 18th state. France colonized the region in the 1700s and founded New Orleans in 1718, then ceded Louisiana to Spain in 1762. The United States acquired the territory from France in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

• Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve

  Bayou banks where alligators bask, Cajun traditions and the field of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans.

• Cane River Creole National Historical Park

  Oakland and Magnolia, two of the most intact Creole cotton plantations in the United States.

• Poverty Point National Monument

  An archeological site from 3,000 years ago, built by a people whose trade network reached hundreds of miles.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in Louisiana

Current owners in Louisiana pay a median 0.55% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $1,180 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $249 in Avoyelles Parish to $2,606 in Orleans Parish. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

Health in Louisiana

Life expectancy

73.3 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

8.3%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

20.7%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

114

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for Louisiana as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in Louisiana

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$3.3B

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$3.06

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Hurricane

$1.5B of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

Side by side

East Baton Rouge Parish, LA is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

All 64 counties in Louisiana

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.