These Are The 10 Most Affordable Places In Louisiana

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 60 largest places in Louisiana, we were left with this set of the best value for your money:

1. Ville Platte
2. Springhill
3. Jeanerette
4. Bastrop
5. Tallulah
6. Opelousas
7. Mansfield
8. Abbeville
9. Eunice
10. Rayne

So listen up Central as we explain how we created this ranking, you could learn some things from the rest of the state.

How We Determined The Most Affordable Places To Live In The Pelican State

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 60 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

Population: 7,464
Services: 93
Groceries: 95
Healthcare: 85
Housing: 40
Transportation: 94
Utiltiies: 95

2. Springhill

Population: 5,273
Services: 93
Groceries: 96
Healthcare: 87
Housing: 46
Transportation: 97
Utiltiies: 79

3. Jeanerette

Population: 5,573
Services: 93
Groceries: 95
Healthcare: 85
Housing: 46
Transportation: 94
Utiltiies: 95

4. Bastrop

Population: 11,348
Services: 99
Groceries: 98
Healthcare: 91
Housing: 44
Transportation: 89
Utiltiies: 82

5. Tallulah

Population: 7,378
Services: 99
Groceries: 98
Healthcare: 91
Housing: 45
Transportation: 89
Utiltiies: 82

6. Opelousas

Population: 16,941
Services: 93
Groceries: 95
Healthcare: 85
Housing: 48
Transportation: 94
Utiltiies: 95

7. Mansfield

Population: 5,061
Services: 93
Groceries: 96
Healthcare: 87
Housing: 50
Transportation: 97
Utiltiies: 79

8. Abbeville

Population: 12,267
Services: 93
Groceries: 95
Healthcare: 85
Housing: 49
Transportation: 94
Utiltiies: 95

9. Eunice

Population: 10,339
Services: 93
Groceries: 95
Healthcare: 85
Housing: 52
Transportation: 94
Utiltiies: 95

10. Rayne

Population: 7,972
Services: 93
Groceries: 95
Healthcare: 85
Housing: 52
Transportation: 94
Utiltiies: 95

Detailed List Of Affordable Places In Louisiana

City	Rank	Population	Services	Grociers	Healthcare
Ville Platte	1	7,464	93	95	85
Springhill	2	5,273	93	96	87
Jeanerette	3	5,573	93	95	85
Bastrop	4	11,348	99	98	91
Tallulah	5	7,378	99	98	91
Opelousas	6	16,941	93	95	85
Mansfield	7	5,061	93	96	87
Abbeville	8	12,267	93	95	85
Eunice	9	10,339	93	95	85
Rayne	10	7,972	93	95	85
Minden	11	13,062	93	96	87
Crowley	12	13,280	93	95	85
Breaux Bridge	13	8,161	93	95	85
Bogalusa	14	12,254	98	94	94
New Iberia	15	30,808	93	95	85
Plaquemine	16	7,098	97	99	101
Franklin	17	7,638	95	95	105
Jennings	18	10,365	90	98	95
West Monroe	19	13,085	99	98	91
Donaldsonville	20	7,483	95	95	105
Monroe	21	49,027	99	98	91
Morgan City	22	12,326	95	95	105
Scott	23	8,607	93	95	85
Oakdale	24	7,785	112	100	108
Port Allen	25	5,154	97	99	101
Shreveport	26	200,099	93	96	87
Carencro	27	7,704	93	95	85
Deridder	28	10,586	90	98	95
Bossier City	29	62,208	93	96	87
Westwego	30	8,615	93	98	99
Patterson	31	6,063	95	95	105
Sulphur	32	20,268	90	98	95
Ruston	33	21,805	99	98	91
Lake Charles	34	72,204	90	98	95
Marksville	35	5,679	112	100	108
Houma	36	33,719	96	94	83
Baker	37	13,868	97	99	101
Leesville	38	6,540	112	100	108
Broussard	39	8,138	93	95	85
Gretna	40	17,720	93	98	99
Lafayette	41	120,757	93	95	85
Thibodaux	42	14,582	95	95	105
Denham Springs	43	10,212	97	99	101
Walker	44	6,126	97	99	101
Baton Rouge	45	229,174	97	99	101
Hammond	46	19,986	97	96	99
Gonzales	47	9,837	97	99	101
Ponchatoula	48	6,577	97	96	99
Pineville	49	14,535	112	100	108
Natchitoches	50	18,264	112	100	108
New Orleans	51	341,407	93	98	99
Kenner	52	66,748	93	98	99
Alexandria	53	47,941	112	100	108
Youngsville	54	8,172	93	95	85
Zachary	55	14,954	97	99	101
Slidell	56	27,202	98	94	94
Harahan	57	9,279	93	98	99
Covington	58	8,896	97	96	99
Mandeville	59	11,827	98	94	94
Central	60	27,035	105	106	109