Moving to Rhode Island from Louisiana
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Louisiana to Rhode Island — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Louisiana to Rhode Island, you would find that Rhode Island is 31.4% more expensive than Louisiana. A $75,000 salary in Louisiana would need to be roughly $98,600 in Rhode Island to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Providence averages 61°F vs 77°F in New Orleans, making it significantly cooler. New Orleans and Providence are about 1,300 mi apart.
Is Rhode Island cheaper than Louisiana?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 17.6% more
Groceries
pay 10.5% more
Transportation
pay 17.0% more
Housing
pay 65.7% more
Childcare
pay 69.2% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 19.6% 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.
What salary do you need in Rhode Island?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $98,600
To maintain the same standard of living in Rhode Island
Calculate with your salary →Key Indicator Comparison
How Louisiana and Rhode Island 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
Rhode Island 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
Rhode Island 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 performs better than Rhode Island across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Rhode Island 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
Rhode Island 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
Rhode Island 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
Weather in Rhode Island vs Louisiana
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | New Orleans | Providence |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 65°/51°F (18°/10°C) | 42°/25°F (5°/-4°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 84°/70°F (29°/21°C) | 68°/49°F (20°/9°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/77°F (32°/25°C) | 79°/61°F (26°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 71°/57°F (21°/14°C) | 53°/35°F (12°/2°C) |
View all months
| Month | New Orleans | Providence |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 60°/46°F (15.6°/8.0°C) | 37°/21°F (3.0°/-6.1°C) |
| Feb | 64°/50°F (17.9°/9.9°C) | 40°/24°F (4.6°/-4.7°C) |
| Mar | 71°/56°F (21.4°/13.3°C) | 48°/30°F (8.8°/-1.1°C) |
| Apr | 77°/63°F (25.2°/17.1°C) | 59°/40°F (14.8°/4.2°C) |
| May | 85°/71°F (29.2°/21.5°C) | 68°/49°F (20.2°/9.2°C) |
| Jun | 89°/76°F (31.8°/24.4°C) | 78°/58°F (25.3°/14.7°C) |
| Jul | 90°/78°F (32.5°/25.5°C) | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.9°C) |
| Aug | 91°/78°F (32.7°/25.7°C) | 81°/63°F (27.4°/17.3°C) |
| Sep | 87°/75°F (30.4°/23.7°C) | 74°/55°F (23.4°/12.9°C) |
| Oct | 79°/66°F (25.9°/18.9°C) | 63°/44°F (17.4°/6.6°C) |
| Nov | 71°/57°F (21.5°/13.7°C) | 53°/36°F (11.8°/2.1°C) |
| Dec | 63°/49°F (17.0°/9.3°C) | 42°/26°F (5.7°/-3.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Rhode Island than Louisiana?
Day-to-day costs in Rhode Island run about 31% higher than Louisiana on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Rhode Island?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $24,650 in Rhode Island for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Rhode Island safe?
Rhode Island performs significantly better than Louisiana across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Rhode Island compared to Louisiana?
Rhode Island performs significantly better than Louisiana across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Rhode Island compared to Louisiana?
The average high temperature in Providence is 61°F, compared to 77°F in New Orleans. Providence receives around 47.2 in of rainfall per year, while New Orleans gets 56.8 in.
