Prices, pay, taxes, homes and family budgets, county by county, from the same official data the site's calculators use.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures price levels in every state against a national average of 100. Louisiana scores 88.2 overall, so a $75,000 salary at average US prices buys what $66,155 buys here. Compare any salary with another state.
| Price level | Louisiana (US = 100) | Rank, most expensive first |
|---|---|---|
| Everything | 88.2 | 47th of 51 |
| Rents | 63.1 | 46th of 51 |
| Goods | 93.7 | — |
| Other services | 95.7 | — |
Home electricity averaged 11.73 cents a kilowatt-hour in 2024, against 17.06 across all states. A gallon of regular gas cost $3.67 at the end of August 2026, against $4.12.
Across all 1,934,900 jobs the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts in Louisiana, the median pay is $45,520 a year, or $21.89 an hour; that ranks 48th of the 50 states and DC. One worker in ten earns less than $22,710 and one in ten more than $100,110.
Louisiana taxes wages at a flat 3%. The brackets in Louisiana. A single filer on the median $45,520, with no retirement or health deductions, takes home about $37,390 a year, or $1,438 every two weeks, after $3,282 of federal income tax, $3,482 of Social Security and Medicare and $1,366 of state income tax. Work out your own paycheck in Louisiana.
The five occupations employing the most people, with their median annual pay:
| Occupation | Jobs | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 49,570 | $29,490 |
| Registered Nurses | 48,970 | $80,230 |
| Cashiers | 46,350 | $26,750 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 45,720 | $22,800 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 45,060 | $22,520 |
Of the 20 largest occupations, the best paid are general and operations managers ($101,790), registered nurses ($80,230), elementary school teachers, except special education ($58,770). See what common jobs pay in every state.
Across the 64 Louisiana counties with their own Zillow home value, the median typical home is worth $172,110, and across the 29 with their own rent figure the median typical rent is $1,334 a month. A typical home costs 2.45 years of the county's median family income, at the median county.
With 10% down at 7.03%, the average 30-year rate on September 24, 2026, that home costs about $1,430 a month with tax, insurance and mortgage insurance, which takes $61,282 a year of income under the usual 28% guideline. The median family can afford its own county's typical home in 82.8% of Louisiana's counties, against 44.9% of counties nationally. Try it with your own income.
At the median county, home values changed +1.4% over the past year and −3.8% over five years, and rents +3.2% over the past year.
The most expensive Louisiana counties are West Feliciana Parish ($389,570), Ascension Parish ($311,066) and St. Tammany Parish ($286,509); the least expensive are East Carroll Parish ($62,063), Claiborne Parish ($75,051) and Madison Parish ($77,554).
The Economic Policy Institute prices what a modest but adequate standard of living costs in every county: housing, food, transport, healthcare, childcare, other necessities and taxes. In the median Louisiana county, that comes to $44,055 a year for one adult and $95,247 for two adults and two children, of which $15,600 is childcare. The national averages are $47,367 and $101,771. Median family income in the median county is $69,225.
| Two adults, two children | Per year, median county | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $11,070 | $923 |
| Food | $11,683 | $974 |
| Transportation | $18,477 | $1,540 |
| Healthcare | $18,574 | $1,548 |
| Childcare | $15,600 | $1,300 |
| Other necessities | $7,132 | $594 |
| Taxes | $12,542 | $1,045 |
Each line is its own median across counties, so the lines do not add up exactly to the total.
The Department of Education's College Scorecard lists 113 colleges in Louisiana, 35 of them public. The median public college reports a cost of attendance of $18,806 a year, covering tuition, housing, books and other expenses. Ten years after enrolling, the median school's former students earn $32,993. Compare degrees and schools.
| Acadia Parish | $155,604 | +5.0% | $925 | $64,039 | $96,221 |
| Allen Parish | $110,627 | −7.2% | — | $60,363 | $90,870 |
| Ascension Parish | $311,066 | +2.6% | $1,831 | $110,154 | $106,642 |
| Assumption Parish | $181,285 | +3.9% | — | $71,433 | $100,356 |
| Avoyelles Parish | $130,764 | −0.5% | — | $50,629 | $90,391 |
| Beauregard Parish | $207,253 | −4.0% | $1,287 | $78,670 | $94,756 |
| Bienville Parish | $106,660 | −8.5% | — | $51,186 | $90,435 |
| Bossier Parish | $247,060 | +1.7% | $1,496 | $84,084 | $99,608 |
| Caddo Parish | $151,879 | +3.8% | $1,162 | $66,959 | $94,132 |
| Calcasieu Parish | $200,373 | +2.4% | $1,319 | $84,341 | $99,994 |
| Caldwell Parish | $145,207 | +8.1% | — | $80,357 | $92,570 |
| Cameron Parish | $237,699 | +10.2% | — | $83,166 | $103,710 |
| Catahoula Parish | $119,821 | +17.4% | — | $60,840 | $93,443 |
| Claiborne Parish | $75,051 | −18.0% | — | $43,782 | $89,147 |
| Concordia Parish | $120,186 | +7.3% | — | $49,954 | $90,373 |
| De Soto Parish | $196,110 | +8.5% | — | $60,513 | $94,014 |
| East Baton Rouge Parish | $236,339 | +1.0% | $1,380 | $84,053 | $99,947 |
| East Carroll Parish | $62,063 | −9.0% | — | $36,917 | $90,428 |
| East Feliciana Parish | $228,702 | −0.6% | — | $90,895 | $95,004 |
| Evangeline Parish | $99,920 | −5.0% | — | $53,733 | $89,678 |
| Franklin Parish | $114,803 | −4.9% | — | $54,288 | $91,474 |
| Grant Parish | $163,761 | +2.7% | — | $70,595 | $96,816 |
| Iberia Parish | $145,664 | +1.4% | $1,292 | $65,884 | $95,090 |
| Iberville Parish | $175,933 | +1.9% | — | $73,110 | $95,404 |
| Jackson Parish | $119,154 | −0.7% | — | $55,909 | $92,216 |
| Jefferson Davis Parish | $154,596 | +0.2% | — | $74,580 | $94,447 |
| Jefferson Parish | $274,691 | +6.5% | $1,495 | $82,463 | $102,474 |
| La Salle Parish | $145,590 | +0.6% | — | $85,330 | $97,621 |
| Lafayette Parish | $238,289 | +2.3% | $1,382 | $89,878 | $100,757 |
| Lafourche Parish | $189,160 | −0.7% | $1,247 | $77,604 | $99,957 |
| Lincoln Parish | $225,361 | +1.7% | $1,261 | $65,512 | $95,680 |
| Livingston Parish | $255,485 | +3.7% | $1,489 | $90,527 | $104,731 |
| Madison Parish | $77,554 | −16.6% | — | $46,616 | $89,145 |
| Morehouse Parish | $97,469 | +4.0% | — | $50,107 | $92,874 |
| Natchitoches Parish | $178,867 | +0.7% | — | $67,177 | $92,446 |
| Orleans Parish | $245,324 | −1.9% | $1,648 | $78,575 | $103,569 |
| Ouachita Parish | $181,685 | +1.3% | $1,237 | $68,882 | $95,756 |
| Plaquemines Parish | $275,668 | −1.7% | $2,089 | $93,705 | $115,589 |
| Pointe Coupee Parish | $189,693 | +1.3% | — | $75,256 | $94,499 |
| Rapides Parish | $173,091 | +1.8% | $1,063 | $69,568 | $98,121 |
| Red River Parish | $152,299 | +9.6% | — | $58,653 | $90,229 |
| Richland Parish | $171,129 | +3.7% | — | $63,978 | $92,207 |
| Sabine Parish | $196,603 | +3.8% | — | $63,480 | $91,493 |
| St. Bernard Parish | $211,018 | +0.8% | $1,412 | $68,348 | $101,507 |
| St. Charles Parish | $268,958 | +2.1% | $1,530 | $97,364 | $106,950 |
| St. Helena Parish | $163,515 | −1.0% | — | $59,951 | $97,231 |
| St. James Parish | $207,287 | +7.2% | — | $87,612 | $98,992 |
| St. John the Baptist Parish | $201,347 | −0.8% | $1,689 | $81,717 | $105,150 |
| St. Landry Parish | $132,916 | −2.6% | $1,058 | $57,044 | $89,060 |
| St. Martin Parish | $174,964 | +4.3% | $1,050 | $72,037 | $98,467 |
| St. Mary Parish | $121,330 | −4.1% | $1,031 | $65,357 | $89,372 |
| St. Tammany Parish | $286,509 | −0.5% | $1,531 | $93,950 | $111,689 |
| Tangipahoa Parish | $225,125 | +0.7% | $1,389 | $73,747 | $101,916 |
| Tensas Parish | $124,861 | −21.9% | — | $50,813 | $92,753 |
| Terrebonne Parish | $182,582 | −5.1% | $1,334 | $75,554 | $100,753 |
| Union Parish | $161,239 | +5.5% | — | $59,641 | $94,830 |
| Vermilion Parish | $160,267 | +1.8% | $1,662 | $74,286 | $95,432 |
| Vernon Parish | $164,138 | +0.4% | $1,202 | $66,475 | $95,982 |
| Washington Parish | $131,036 | +4.7% | — | $60,114 | $88,713 |
| Webster Parish | $116,244 | −4.9% | — | $49,274 | $87,111 |
| West Baton Rouge Parish | $251,115 | +2.0% | $1,242 | $102,885 | $101,013 |
| West Carroll Parish | $136,291 | +4.0% | — | $71,301 | $90,505 |
| West Feliciana Parish | $389,570 | +2.8% | — | $90,000 | $102,112 |
| Winn Parish | $108,565 | −3.5% | — | $62,956 | $92,552 |
A dash means the source publishes no figure for that county. Home values and rents are Zillow's own county figures only; counties Zillow does not cover are left blank rather than filled with a state average.
New Orleans, LA (typical rent $1,604), Baton Rouge, LA (typical rent $1,407).
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County figures are medians across Louisiana's counties, each counting once, so they describe the spread of places rather than of people. Property tax and insurance vary widely; the calculators let you use your own.