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CityLedger

Lafayette vs Mobile

Metro-area medians — Lafayette, LA Metro Area vs Mobile, AL Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Lafayette comes out ahead, winning 4 of the 7 clearly-decided measures.

Lafayette and Mobile are closely matched on both cost of living and household income. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches about as far in either.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Lafayette, LA
$59,439
take-home / yr · 21% to tax
$68,156
real value after local prices
Mobile, AL
$57,754
take-home / yr · 23% to tax
$65,556
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Lafayette leaves you about $2,600/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Lafayette
Mobile
Livability (CityLedger)
33/100
30/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
87.2
88.1
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$69,405
$68,536
Median household income
$60,527
$60,379
Median rent
$968/mo
$1,106/mo
Median home value
$222,100
$207,400
Unemployment
5%
5.6%
Bachelor's degree or higher
29.5%
27.5%
Average commute
26.6 min
24.7 min
Air quality (median AQI)
51
45
Avg temperature
69°F
68°F

Choose Lafayette for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Median rent
  • + Unemployment
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
Full Lafayette profile →

Choose Mobile for

  • + Median home value
  • + Average commute
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Mobile profile →

Lafayette vs Mobile — frequently asked

Is Lafayette cheaper than Mobile?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Lafayette and Mobile metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Lafayette or Mobile?
Household incomes are similar — $60,527 in the Lafayette metro versus $60,379 in Mobile (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).
Does a paycheck go further in Lafayette or Mobile?
It is roughly a wash. After adjusting income for local prices, a typical paycheck is worth about the same in both metros ($69,405 versus $68,536).
Which has cheaper rent, Lafayette or Mobile?
Lafayette has cheaper rent — a median of $968/mo versus $1,106/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).