Moving to Louisiana from Pennsylvania
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Pennsylvania to Louisiana — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Pennsylvania to Louisiana, you would find that Louisiana is 10.5% cheaper than Pennsylvania. A $75,000 salary in Pennsylvania would need to be roughly $67,100 in Louisiana to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — New Orleans averages 77°F vs 65°F in Philadelphia, making it significantly warmer. Philadelphia and New Orleans are about 1,100 mi apart.
Is Louisiana cheaper than Pennsylvania?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 3.2% more
Groceries
pay 3.4% less
Transportation
pay 12.2% less
Housing
pay 12.3% less
Childcare
pay 46.7% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.6% less
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 Louisiana?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $67,100
To maintain the same standard of living in Louisiana
Calculate with your salary →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 Louisiana cost about 4% more than cities in Pennsylvania.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Pennsylvania to Louisiana.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Pennsylvania performs 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
Pennsylvania performs 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 Pennsylvania leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Pennsylvania generally does better on infrastructure, though Louisiana leads in average commute.
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
Pennsylvania performs better than Louisiana across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Pennsylvania performs 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 Louisiana vs Pennsylvania
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Philadelphia | New Orleans |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) | 65°/51°F (18°/10°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) | 84°/70°F (29°/21°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) | 89°/77°F (32°/25°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) | 71°/57°F (21°/14°C) |
View all months
| Month | Philadelphia | New Orleans |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) | 60°/46°F (15.6°/8.0°C) |
| Feb | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) | 64°/50°F (17.9°/9.9°C) |
| Mar | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) | 71°/56°F (21.4°/13.3°C) |
| Apr | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) | 77°/63°F (25.2°/17.1°C) |
| May | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) | 85°/71°F (29.2°/21.5°C) |
| Jun | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) | 89°/76°F (31.8°/24.4°C) |
| Jul | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) | 90°/78°F (32.5°/25.5°C) |
| Aug | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) | 91°/78°F (32.7°/25.7°C) |
| Sep | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) | 87°/75°F (30.4°/23.7°C) |
| Oct | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) | 79°/66°F (25.9°/18.9°C) |
| Nov | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) | 71°/57°F (21.5°/13.7°C) |
| Dec | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) | 63°/49°F (17.0°/9.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Louisiana than Pennsylvania?
Yes — Louisiana is on average about 11% cheaper than Pennsylvania. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Louisiana?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $16,775 in Louisiana on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Louisiana safe?
Pennsylvania performs better than Louisiana across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Louisiana compared to Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania performs better than Louisiana across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Louisiana compared to Pennsylvania?
The average high temperature in New Orleans is 77°F, compared to 65°F in Philadelphia. New Orleans receives around 56.8 in of rainfall per year, while Philadelphia gets 41.5 in.
