Moving to Louisiana from West Virginia
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from West Virginia to Louisiana — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from West Virginia to Louisiana, you would find that Louisiana is 4.4% more expensive than West Virginia. A $75,000 salary in West Virginia would need to be roughly $78,300 in Louisiana to maintain the same lifestyle. Charleston and New Orleans are about 750 mi apart.
Is Louisiana cheaper than West Virginia?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 10.5% more
Groceries
pay 1.7% more
Transportation
pay 3.1% less
Housing
pay 9.0% more
Childcare
pay 13.6% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.2% 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 Louisiana?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $78,300
To maintain the same standard of living in Louisiana
Calculate with your salary →Key Indicator Comparison
How West Virginia and Louisiana 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
West Virginia 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
West Virginia generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Louisiana leads in adult smoking rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
West Virginia performs better than Louisiana across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Louisiana performs significantly better than West Virginia 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
Louisiana generally does better on employment & economy, though West Virginia leads in poverty rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Louisiana performs significantly better than West Virginia 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 West Virginia
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Charleston | New Orleans |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 61°/47°F (16°/8°C) | 65°/51°F (18°/10°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 79°/67°F (26°/19°C) | 84°/70°F (29°/21°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/75°F (30°/24°C) | 89°/77°F (32°/25°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 67°/54°F (20°/12°C) | 71°/57°F (21°/14°C) |
View all months
| Month | Charleston | New Orleans |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57°/43°F (13.7°/6.0°C) | 60°/46°F (15.6°/8.0°C) |
| Feb | 60°/46°F (15.3°/7.5°C) | 64°/50°F (17.9°/9.9°C) |
| Mar | 65°/52°F (18.3°/10.9°C) | 71°/56°F (21.4°/13.3°C) |
| Apr | 72°/59°F (22.2°/14.9°C) | 77°/63°F (25.2°/17.1°C) |
| May | 79°/67°F (25.9°/19.5°C) | 85°/71°F (29.2°/21.5°C) |
| Jun | 85°/74°F (29.2°/23.3°C) | 89°/76°F (31.8°/24.4°C) |
| Jul | 88°/77°F (30.9°/24.9°C) | 90°/78°F (32.5°/25.5°C) |
| Aug | 86°/76°F (30.2°/24.5°C) | 91°/78°F (32.7°/25.7°C) |
| Sep | 82°/72°F (27.8°/22.1°C) | 87°/75°F (30.4°/23.7°C) |
| Oct | 75°/62°F (23.7°/16.9°C) | 79°/66°F (25.9°/18.9°C) |
| Nov | 67°/54°F (19.6°/12.0°C) | 71°/57°F (21.5°/13.7°C) |
| Dec | 60°/46°F (15.3°/7.6°C) | 63°/49°F (17.0°/9.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Louisiana than West Virginia?
Day-to-day costs in Louisiana run about 4% higher than West Virginia on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Louisiana?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $19,575 in Louisiana for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Louisiana safe?
West Virginia performs better than Louisiana across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Louisiana compared to West Virginia?
West Virginia generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Louisiana leads in adult smoking rate.
What's the weather like in Louisiana compared to West Virginia?
The average high temperature in New Orleans is 77°F, compared to 73°F in Charleston. New Orleans receives around 56.8 in of rainfall per year, while Charleston gets 44.4 in.
