These Are The 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Louisiana For 2018

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A wise sage once said:

“She works hard for the money…”

And these places in Louisiana definitely treat her right.

You see, these are the places in Louisiana where the cost of living is the lowest; where your salary goes the furthest. And when if you have the luxury of choosing where to live in the Pelican State, then the cost of living should play a role in the decision.

So we did the hard for you and crunched the numbers to find the cities that have lower food, energy, and housing costs. After the dust settled on our analysis of the 59 largest places in Louisiana, we were left with this set of the best value for your money.

Here are the 10 cheapest places to live in Louisiana for 2018:

So listen up Central (the most expensive place in Louisiana) as we explain how we created this ranking. You could learn some things from the rest of the state.

And if you already knew these places were cheap, check out the best places to live in Louisiana or the most expensive.

How We Determined The Cheapest Places To Live In The Pelican State For 2018

There are basic necessities that you have to buy no matter where in the country you live. Those things include:

Housing
Food
Gas
Health Insurance
Utilities
Transportation

You can then compare the cost of these things in each of the places in Louisiana to figure out which is the least expensive.

What you are left with is a “Cost of Living Index” that normalizes to 100 for an average place in the United States.

So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 59 places in Louisiana that have more than 5,000 people.

And just so you can better understand how the cost of living index works, 100 is the average cost of a place in the United States. A score of 90 means that the place cost 10% less than average. A score of 90 means it’s 10% less expensive.

San Francisco has a score of 243 meaning it’s almost 2.5 times as expensive as the average place in the country.

1. Ville Platte

Source: Wikipedia User Jerrye & Roy Kl | CC BY-SA 4.0

Population: 7,464
Services: 93
Groceries: 95
Health Care: 85
Housing: 40
Transportation: 94
Utilities: 95
More on Ville Platte: Homes For Sale | Data
Ville Platte is a city in, and the parish seat of, Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,430 at the 2010 census, down from 8,145 in 2000. The city’s name is of French origin, roughly translating to “flat city”, in reference to its relatively flat topography in contrast to the more hilly terrain north of the area.

2. Springhill

Source: Wikipedia User Billy Hathorn | CC BY 3.0

Population: 5,273
Services: 93
Groceries: 96
Health Care: 87
Housing: 46
Transportation: 97
Utilities: 79
More on Springhill: Homes For Sale | Data
Springhill is a city in northernmost Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,279 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 160 since 2000. Springhill is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area though it is thirty miles north of Minden, the seat of government of Webster Parish. The Springhill population is 34 percent African American, compared to 25 percent minority in 2000.

3. Jeanerette

Source: Wikipedia User Dieter Karner | CC BY 2.0

Population: 5,573
Services: 93
Groceries: 95
Health Care: 85
Housing: 46
Transportation: 94
Utilities: 95
More on Jeanerette: Homes For Sale | Data
Jeanerette is a small city in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States. Known as “Sugar City”, it had a population of 5,530 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 467 from the 2000 tabulation of 5,997. It is two thirds African American, many of them Creoles of color.

4. Mansfield

Source: Wikipedia User Billy Hathorn ( | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 5,061
Services: 93
Groceries: 96
Health Care: 87
Housing: 50
Transportation: 97
Utilities: 79
More on Mansfield: Homes For Sale | Data

5. Opelousas

Source: Wikipedia User Z28scrambler | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 16,941
Services: 93
Groceries: 95
Health Care: 85
Housing: 48
Transportation: 94
Utilities: 95
More on Opelousas: Homes For Sale | Data
Opelousas is a small city in and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies at the junction of Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190. The population was 22,860 at the 2000 census. Although the 2006 population estimate was 23,222, a 2004 annexation should have put the city’s population above 25,000. In the 2010 census, however, the population shrank to 16,634. Opelousas is the principal city for the Opelousas-Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 92,178 in 2008. Opelousas is also the third largest city in the Lafayette-Acadiana Combined Statistical Area, which has a population of 537,947.

6. Abbeville

Source: Wikipedia User Paul (talk) | CC BY 3.0

Population: 12,267
Services: 93
Groceries: 95
Health Care: 85
Housing: 49
Transportation: 94
Utilities: 95
More on Abbeville: Homes For Sale | Data
Abbeville is a city in and the parish seat of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States, 150 miles west of New Orleans and 60 miles southwest of Baton Rouge. The population was 12,257 at the 2010 census.

7. Rayne

Source: Wikipedia User Chris Litherlan | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 7,972
Services: 93
Groceries: 95
Health Care: 85
Housing: 52
Transportation: 94
Utilities: 95
More on Rayne: Homes For Sale | Data

8. Eunice

Source: Flickr User daystreamin’ | CC BY 2.0

Population: 10,339
Services: 93
Groceries: 95
Health Care: 85
Housing: 52
Transportation: 94
Utilities: 95
More on Eunice: Homes For Sale | Data
Eunice is a city in Acadia and St. Landry parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The 2010 census placed the population at 10,398, a decrease of 1,101, or 9.5 percent, from the 2000 tabulation of 11,499.

9. Minden

Source: Wikipedia User Billy Hathorn | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 13,062
Services: 93
Groceries: 96
Health Care: 87
Housing: 54
Transportation: 97
Utilities: 79
More on Minden: Homes For Sale | Data
Minden is a small city in and the parish seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, United States. It is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport in Caddo Parish. The population has been relatively stable since 1960, when it was 12,786. Minden is 51.7 percent African American.

10. Crowley

Source: Wikipedia User Chris Litherlan | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 13,280
Services: 93
Groceries: 95
Health Care: 85
Housing: 54
Transportation: 94
Utilities: 95
More on Crowley: Homes For Sale | Data
Crowley is a city in and the parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,265 at the 2010 census but 14,225 in 2000, a loss of nearly a thousand persons. It is 63.8 percent Non-Hispanic White.

There You Have It Mr. Or Mrs. Cheapskate

If you’re looking at the cost of living numbers in Louisiana, this is an accurate list of the cheapest places to call home.

Detailed List Of The Cheapest Places In Louisiana

Rank	City	CheapScore	Population	Services	Groceries	Health Care
1	Ville Platte	18.58	7,464	93	95	85
2	Springhill	18.83	5,273	93	96	87
3	Jeanerette	19.33	5,573	93	95	85
4	Mansfield	19.58	5,061	93	96	87
5	Opelousas	19.75	16,941	93	95	85
6	Abbeville	19.92	12,267	93	95	85
7	Rayne	20.33	7,972	93	95	85
8	Eunice	20.33	10,339	93	95	85
9	Minden	20.75	13,062	93	96	87
10	Crowley	21.25	13,280	93	95	85
11	Breaux Bridge	21.83	8,161	93	95	85
12	New Iberia	22.25	30,808	93	95	85
13	Scott	23.08	8,607	93	95	85
14	Shreveport	23.58	200,099	93	96	87
15	Bastrop	23.83	11,348	99	98	91
16	Carencro	23.83	7,704	93	95	85
17	Tallulah	24.0	7,378	99	98	91
18	Bossier City	24.42	62,208	93	96	87
19	Houma	24.92	33,719	96	94	83
20	Broussard	26.08	8,138	93	95	85
21	Lafayette	26.75	120,757	93	95	85
22	West Monroe	27.33	13,085	99	98	91
23	Westwego	27.33	8,615	93	98	99
24	Monroe	27.5	49,027	99	98	91
25	Franklin	27.67	7,638	95	95	105
26	Jennings	27.67	10,365	90	98	95
27	Youngsville	27.92	8,172	93	95	85
28	Donaldsonville	28.75	7,483	95	95	105
29	Morgan City	29.0	12,326	95	95	105
30	Plaquemine	29.0	7,098	97	99	101
31	Gretna	29.42	17,720	93	98	99
32	Ruston	29.67	21,805	99	98	91
33	Bogalusa	30.0	12,254	98	94	94
34	Patterson	30.0	6,063	95	95	105
35	Port Allen	30.17	5,154	97	99	101
36	New Orleans	30.33	341,407	93	98	99
37	Sulphur	30.42	20,268	90	98	95
38	Kenner	30.58	66,748	93	98	99
39	Lake Charles	30.75	72,204	90	98	95
40	Harahan	31.17	9,279	93	98	99
41	Baker	31.92	13,868	97	99	101
42	Thibodaux	32.0	14,582	95	95	105
43	Denham Springs	33.25	10,212	97	99	101
44	Walker	33.25	6,126	97	99	101
45	Baton Rouge	33.75	229,174	97	99	101
46	Gonzales	34.0	9,837	97	99	101
47	Zachary	34.92	14,954	97	99	101
48	Hammond	36.83	19,986	97	96	99
49	Ponchatoula	36.83	6,577	97	96	99
50	Slidell	37.5	27,202	98	94	94
51	Mandeville	38.67	11,827	98	94	94
52	Covington	39.17	8,896	97	96	99
53	Oakdale	42.33	7,785	112	100	108
54	Marksville	44.33	5,679	112	100	108
55	Leesville	44.83	6,540	112	100	108
56	Pineville	46.67	14,535	112	100	108
57	Natchitoches	47.08	18,264	112	100	108
58	Alexandria	48.08	47,941	112	100	108
59	Central	56.67	27,035	105	106	109