Moving to Minnesota from Louisiana
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Louisiana to Minnesota — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Louisiana to Minnesota, you would find that Minnesota is 4.0% more expensive than Louisiana. A $75,000 salary in Louisiana would need to be roughly $78,000 in Minnesota to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Saint Paul averages 56°F vs 79°F in Baton Rouge, making it significantly cooler.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Louisiana to Minnesota.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $78,000
To maintain the same standard of living in Minnesota
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 0.9% more
Groceries
pay 0.5% less
Transportation
pay 12.4% more
Housing
pay 0.1% more
Childcare
pay 22.4% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 14.5% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Minnesota cost about 2% less than cities in Louisiana.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Louisiana and Minnesota stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Minnesota performs significantly better than Louisiana across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Minnesota performs significantly better than Louisiana across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Louisiana generally does better on what about housing?, though Minnesota leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Minnesota performs significantly better than Louisiana across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Minnesota generally does better on employment & economy, though Louisiana leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Minnesota performs significantly better than Louisiana across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Baton Rouge | Saint Paul |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 67°/45°F (19°/7°C) | 32°/16°F (0°/-9°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 85°/64°F (30°/18°C) | 69°/50°F (21°/10°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 91°/72°F (33°/22°C) | 79°/60°F (26°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 72°/50°F (22°/10°C) | 43°/27°F (6°/-3°C) |
View all months
| Month | Baton Rouge | Saint Paul |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 62°/41°F (16.8°/5.1°C) | 25°/9°F (-4.1°/-12.6°C) |
| Feb | 66°/44°F (18.7°/6.9°C) | 30°/14°F (-1.3°/-9.9°C) |
| Mar | 73°/50°F (22.6°/10.2°C) | 42°/26°F (5.5°/-3.6°C) |
| Apr | 79°/57°F (26.3°/13.8°C) | 58°/39°F (14.7°/3.9°C) |
| May | 86°/65°F (30.1°/18.4°C) | 70°/50°F (21.2°/10.0°C) |
| Jun | 91°/71°F (32.7°/21.9°C) | 79°/60°F (26.0°/15.4°C) |
| Jul | 92°/74°F (33.4°/23.2°C) | 83°/65°F (28.5°/18.1°C) |
| Aug | 92°/73°F (33.6°/23.0°C) | 81°/62°F (27.1°/16.8°C) |
| Sep | 89°/69°F (31.5°/20.3°C) | 72°/53°F (22.2°/11.7°C) |
| Oct | 81°/58°F (27.1°/14.4°C) | 59°/40°F (14.8°/4.7°C) |
| Nov | 72°/49°F (22.2°/9.4°C) | 42°/28°F (5.6°/-2.4°C) |
| Dec | 64°/43°F (17.8°/5.9°C) | 28°/14°F (-2.5°/-10.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Minnesota than Louisiana?
Day-to-day costs in Minnesota run about 4% higher than Louisiana on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Minnesota?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $19,500 in Minnesota for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Minnesota safe?
Minnesota performs significantly better than Louisiana across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Minnesota compared to Louisiana?
Minnesota performs significantly better than Louisiana across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Minnesota compared to Louisiana?
The average high temperature in Saint Paul is 56°F, compared to 79°F in Baton Rouge. Saint Paul receives around 28.5 in of rainfall per year, while Baton Rouge gets 60.6 in.
