If you’re researching the cheapest places to live in Louisiana like I search for beignets in New Orleans, you’re in the right place.
While I’m personally more of a Morning Call guy than a Cafe Du Mond fan, you’ll find plenty of affordable options in the Bayou State. To help you in your research, we used Saturday Night Science to evaluate real estate prices, costs of living, and rents in places with a population over 5,000 in Louisiana.
Put on some smooth jazz, get hyped for being within driving distance of Mardi Gras, and let’s walk through the most affordable places to live in Louisiana for 2026.
About 8.0 percent of Louisiana workers now work from home, the 48th-highest share in the country — our state-by-state commute breakdown shows what that flip did to carpooling.
$28,361 median income · $656 median rent · #6 home prices in Louisiana
Located in
Evangeline Parish, Louisiana
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$32,605 median income · $839 median rent · #5 home prices in Louisiana
Located in
Morehouse Parish, Louisiana
Next up on the list of the least expensive places in Louisiana is Bastrop. The parish seat in Morehouse Parish, Bastrop’s housing market is particularly attractive, with a median home value at the fifth lowest level in the state and a median rent sitting at the 16th lowest.
You can better spend the money you save on housing in Bastrop on higher-quality gumbo and muffuletta ingredients.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$33,419 median income · $650 median rent · #1 home prices in Louisiana
Located in
Madison Parish, Louisiana
Ranking as the third most inexpensive place in Louisiana is Tallulah, a city in the northeastern part of the state near the Mississippi border. Tallulah has the cheapest homes for sale in the state, with a median price tag of $77,518. On the flip side, the poverty rate in Tallulah is over 40%, so coming into the city with a job lined up and some savings will really make Tallulah’s affordability stand out. As a bonus, Tallulah is one of the safest places in Louisiana, so you can be sure the city hasn’t skimped on security.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$33,015 median income · $829 median rent · #14 home prices in Louisiana
Located in
Vermilion Parish, Louisiana
If you’re looking for the most affordable place to live in Louisiana, look no further than Abbeville, a city just 20 miles south of Lafayette. Homes in Abbeville go for a median price of $138,932 and residents earn a median income of $33,015, giving Abbeville the 48th best home price to income ratio in Louisiana.
We already named Abbeville as one of the best places to raise a family in Louisiana thanks to its low crime, good schools, and access to kid-friendly amenities like Palmetto Island State Park. The fact that you can have all this for the lowest price in the state seems too good to be true.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$48,558 median income · $881 median rent · #11 home prices in Louisiana
Located in
Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana
Jennings, a stone’s throw from Lake Charles in Louisiana, ranks as the fifth best spot for affordability. Low living costs, at just 8.8% of the state average, pair with affordable housing. Jennings holds the 11th lowest median home value and ranks 20th lowest for median rent in Louisiana.
The overall cost of living index of 83 is supported by low index values for utilities (98), services (101), and healthcare (57). With a cost of living so low, you’ll have enough for a trip to New Orleans each year for Mardi Gras.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$39,518 median income · $814 median rent · #4 home prices in Louisiana
Located in
St. Mary Parish, Louisiana
You’ll have no trouble believing that you’re living in one of the cheapest states in America when you move to Franklin. Thanks to relatively high incomes and low home prices, Franklin has the third best home price to income ratio in Louisiana. That leaves plenty of money leftover to go shopping in Franklin’s historic district (or just take in the opulent turn-of-the-century architecture).
Franklin is located 45 miles southeast of Lafayette.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$42,540 median income · $873 median rent · #2 home prices in Louisiana
Located in
Allen Parish, Louisiana
Oakdale ranks as the seventh cheapest city in Louisiana thanks to its rock-bottom housing prices for both renters and buyers. The median rent in Oakdale is an absurdly low $873/month, which is less than half the average rent in Louisiana. On top of that, Oakdale has the second cheapest homes for sale in the state, with a median home price of $84,731. Regardless of your living situation, paying the housing bills in Oakdale is more of a minor inconvenience than a bank-breaker.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$32,964 median income · $717 median rent · #9 home prices in Louisiana
Located in
St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$37,500 median income · $894 median rent · #21 home prices in Louisiana
Located in
Vernon Parish, Louisiana
Leesville has an overall cost of living that is 10% lower than the Louisiana average and almost 20% lower than the national average. The main reason for affordability in Leesville? Housing. Real estate costs about 30% less than the Louisiana average. The median home value according to the most recent Census data comes in at $153,498 while rents average $894 per month.
Located about midway between Shreveport and Lafayette at the intersection of Routes 171 and 28, Leesville offers residents many affordable amenities including Leesville Art Park and the Museum of West Louisiana.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$30,749 median income · $767 median rent · #3 home prices in Louisiana
Located in
Washington Parish, Louisiana
Bogalusa gets its name from the local Choctaw language. It means “smoky water.” It’s an apt description, given that the area has a long industrial history. This has included at various times thriving lumber and paper mill operations.
The economy has slowed in recent decades, as some of those once booming companies shut down. That deindustrialization has taken its toll on Bogalusa. The median income now runs a paltry $30,749 and the unemployment rate sits at 15.71%.
Dollars may be scarce in town. But at least you get a lot for the money you have. The area sports the third lowest median home value in Louisiana, with a figure of $85,577. Rents come in at a median level of $767 per month.
Bogalusa is located in the far eastern part of the state, near the Mississippi River. Take a couple minute drive to the east and you’ll enter the state of Mississippi. If you’re interested in history, check out the Robert “Bob” Hicks House, situated in Bogalusa. It was the site of important local civil rights meetings in the 1960s.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Louisiana’s statewide median.
Louisiana statewide median: $211,635
Louisiana statewide median: $60,756
On the map
Where your money goes furthest in Louisiana
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most affordable places to live in the Pelican State for 2026
Determining affordability for places in Louisiana boils down to how much it costs to live here.
You need to understand your costs relative to what people in the rest of the state are paying.
With that logic in mind, we derived several cost of living statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2020-2024 for Louisiana using Saturday Night Science. We indexed the cost of living statistics across the following categories:
- Housing
- Transportation
- Services
- Groceries
- Healthcare
- Utilities
These are then weighted together to produce an overall cost of living index where 100 is the United States average. Anything below 100 is relatively affordable. Anything over 100 is relatively expensive.
We applied the biggest weight to housing as it typically accounts for 25% or more of your budget. Additionally, housing costs are the highest variant cost across a state. We then compare these cost of living metrics for each place in Louisiana to figure out which is the least expensive.
The “Cost of Living Index” allows you to rank all of the 58 places in Louisiana that have more than 5,000 people from least expensive to most expensive. Any ties went to the larger city.
The place in Louisiana with the lowest cost of living according to the data is Ville Platte.
We updated this article for 2026. This report reflects our eleventh time ranking the cheapest places to live in Louisiana. The median Louisiana home is 43 years old — old enough that it pays to compare home warranty plans before something expensive breaks.
The full plate
Cheapest Places To Live In Louisiana
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Cost Of Living Index | Median Income | Home Prices | Rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ville Platte | 6,253 | 79 | $28,361 | $98,290 | $656 |
| 2 | Bastrop | 9,232 | 82 | $32,605 | $89,353 | $839 |
| 3 | Tallulah | 5,969 | 82 | $33,419 | $77,518 | $650 |
| 4 | Abbeville | 11,003 | 83 | $33,015 | $138,932 | $829 |
| 5 | Jennings | 9,553 | 83 | $48,558 | $134,099 | $881 |
| 6 | Franklin | 6,461 | 83 | $39,518 | $89,151 | $814 |
| 7 | Oakdale | 6,546 | 84 | $42,540 | $84,731 | $873 |
| 8 | Opelousas | 15,495 | 86 | $32,964 | $123,099 | $717 |
| 9 | Leesville | 5,495 | 86 | $37,500 | $153,498 | $894 |
| 10 | Bogalusa | 10,468 | 87 | $30,749 | $85,577 | $767 |
| 11 | Patterson | 5,744 | 87 | $49,886 | $136,405 | $878 |
| 12 | Eunice | 9,239 | 88 | $35,436 | $109,304 | $799 |
| 13 | Minden | 11,455 | 89 | $34,294 | $140,974 | $895 |
| 14 | St. Martinville | 5,297 | 89 | $36,130 | $150,321 | $765 |
| 15 | Monroe | 47,004 | 90 | $40,505 | $149,717 | $886 |
| 16 | New Iberia | 27,571 | 90 | $47,087 | $145,864 | $894 |
| 17 | West Monroe | 12,729 | 90 | $49,386 | $194,939 | $826 |
| 18 | Rayne | 7,105 | 90 | $42,151 | $173,349 | $828 |
| 19 | Baker | 12,253 | 91 | $54,750 | $180,739 | $993 |
| 20 | Morgan City | 11,064 | 91 | $56,474 | $122,451 | $917 |
| 21 | Houma | 32,392 | 92 | $58,194 | $184,223 | $1,058 |
| 22 | Crowley | 11,422 | 92 | $28,642 | $123,650 | $594 |
| 23 | Scott | 8,609 | 92 | $56,299 | $218,990 | $1,052 |
| 24 | Westwego | 8,335 | 92 | $46,261 | $179,563 | $1,049 |
| 25 | Donaldsonville | 6,831 | 92 | $23,618 | $164,852 | $827 |
| 26 | Sulphur | 20,775 | 93 | $61,760 | $195,533 | $994 |
| 27 | Natchitoches | 17,577 | 93 | $37,133 | $181,713 | $802 |
| 28 | Thibodaux | 15,732 | 93 | $52,072 | $226,921 | $960 |
| 29 | Pineville | 14,160 | 93 | $49,774 | $193,577 | $910 |
| 30 | DeRidder | 9,763 | 93 | $59,801 | $153,081 | $958 |
| 31 | Breaux Bridge | 7,501 | 93 | $47,806 | $182,775 | $891 |
| 32 | Shreveport | 180,982 | 94 | $48,699 | $135,092 | $987 |
| 33 | Ruston | 22,284 | 94 | $31,120 | $225,352 | $816 |
| 34 | Lake Charles | 81,143 | 95 | $59,235 | $199,012 | $1,109 |
| 35 | Bossier City | 62,901 | 95 | $55,819 | $228,172 | $1,107 |
| 36 | Alexandria | 44,060 | 95 | $47,113 | $144,328 | $931 |
| 37 | Gretna | 17,389 | 95 | $43,110 | $238,821 | $1,060 |
| 38 | Ponchatoula | 7,808 | 95 | $51,161 | $247,934 | $762 |
| 39 | St. Gabriel | 6,639 | 95 | $74,688 | $263,882 | $1,017 |
| 40 | Plaquemine | 6,075 | 95 | $69,366 | $159,906 | $880 |
| 41 | Hammond | 21,539 | 96 | $48,166 | $222,619 | $1,061 |
| 42 | Denham Springs | 9,323 | 98 | $71,569 | $255,931 | $1,014 |
| 43 | Gonzales | 13,108 | 99 | $75,451 | $288,155 | $1,497 |
| 44 | Carencro | 11,619 | 99 | $63,401 | $218,909 | $944 |
| 45 | Walker | 6,390 | 99 | $80,707 | $253,184 | $1,028 |
| 46 | Baton Rouge | 222,771 | 100 | $49,994 | $228,415 | $1,067 |
| 47 | Lafayette | 121,715 | 100 | $61,915 | $224,254 | $1,100 |
| 48 | Kenner | 64,904 | 101 | $64,020 | $268,195 | $1,179 |
| 49 | Slidell | 28,561 | 101 | $70,497 | $218,143 | $1,375 |
| 50 | Covington | 11,658 | 103 | $75,851 | $317,481 | $1,396 |
| 51 | Broussard | 14,322 | 104 | $116,179 | $282,910 | $1,010 |
| 52 | Central | 29,783 | 105 | $89,554 | $282,212 | $1,309 |
| 53 | Youngsville | 17,427 | 105 | $105,876 | $276,689 | $1,278 |
| 54 | Addis | 7,252 | 105 | $108,041 | $244,631 | $1,273 |
| 55 | Harahan | 8,904 | 106 | $79,516 | $315,751 | $1,082 |
| 56 | New Orleans | 371,853 | 108 | $56,631 | $242,493 | $1,251 |
| 57 | Zachary | 19,952 | 108 | $84,480 | $267,773 | $1,527 |
| 58 | Mandeville | 12,946 | 114 | $94,405 | $355,608 | $1,422 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, cost-of-living data. 58 places with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Louisiana Affordability Summary
This is an accurate list of the most affordable places to live in Louisiana for 2026, if you’re looking at the cost of living numbers in Louisiana.
The cheapest cities in Louisiana are Ville Platte, Bastrop, Tallulah, Abbeville, Jennings, Franklin, Oakdale, Opelousas, Leesville, and Bogalusa. Not sold on Louisiana? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
