Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Metairie's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Metairie?
Your $100,000 in Metairie has the same purchasing power as $111,719 in the average US city. You'd need $11,719 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Metairie's cost index of 90, sorted by closest match.
Wondering whether you should move to Metairie? It depends on what you're optimizing for, but the city has real arguments in its favor: your dollar carries more weight here and walkable in a way most us cities aren't, plus 2 more things worth knowing. The data behind each is below.
Metairie sits at 90 on the composite cost-of-living index — about 10% under the national average. Not the cheapest place in the country, but enough of a discount to notice on rent and groceries every month. Median rent in town runs about $1,120/mo against a typical household income of $72,070, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Metairie earns a Walk Score of 64/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents.
The average one-way commute in Metairie is about 21 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
39% of adults 25 and over in Metairie hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Metairie's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Almost never. Metairie's winter average of about 48°F is too warm for snow most years. A measurable snowfall is the kind of event that closes schools and gets photographed for the local paper.
Barely. Winter in Metairie averages around 48°F — short, mild, mostly an excuse to break out a light jacket. Some plants don't even drop their leaves.
Genuinely hot. Summer in Metairie averages about 91°F, and peak afternoons run well over a hundred. Outdoor plans move to mornings and evenings; AC is the most-used appliance in the house.
Metairie falls in roughly USDA Zone 10. The zone classification is based on average annual minimum temperatures, so it's the right lookup for whether perennials and trees will overwinter here. Note that this is approximate from our winter-temperature data — check the USDA map for the exact zone before betting an expensive plant on it.
Metairie sits roughly 3 feet (1 m) above sea level — basically at the waterline. Storm surge, king tides, and long-term sea-level rise are real considerations for any coastal property here.
Hurricane season covers June through November, with peak activity in late summer and early fall. For Metairie, the practical advice is: have a few days of water and supplies on hand from August onward, know your evacuation route, and don't wait for the news to tell you a storm is "probably nothing" — track the cone yourself.
Average for an American city. Metairie's reported crime rate of about 3,142 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
No — your dollar actually goes further here. Metairie's composite cost-of-living index is 90, roughly 10% under the US average. Housing is usually the biggest driver of the discount.
Somewhat. Metairie earns a Walk Score of 64/100 — many daily errands are doable on foot, especially in the denser neighborhoods, but a car still helps for longer trips.
Roughly $62,657 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Metairie runs about $1,120/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.