How much do households in Louisiana spend on rent?
Data updated September 16, 2024
About $984 per month, or 36.0% of their income, in 2022. This is measured by comparing median rent and median monthly income for renting households.
Showing data for
In 2022, median rent was
36.0%
of median income
In 2022,
$984
was the median rent per month
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability. Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates it’s more affordable.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing, to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of average monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.
Louisiana's rent-to-income ratio was higher than in the US overall in 2022.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income
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The national rent-to-income ratio reached a high of 33.8% in 2011 following the Great Recession. In Louisiana, the rent-to-income ratio reached 37.6% that year. Most recently, in 2022, Louisiana’s rent-to-income ratio was 36.0%, 4.3 percentage points higher than the national rate.
Across metro areas, the average rent-to-income ratio was 30.8% in 2018–2022.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
In 2018–2022, the average rent-to-income ratio across metro areas was 30.8%. The metro areas with the highest and lowest ratios were the Mayagüez, Puerto Rico area at 56.9% (highest) and Sheboygan, Wisconsin area, at 21.7% (lowest). In Louisiana, the highest and lowest were Monroe, LA area at 37.7% and Lake Charles, LA area at 32.2%.
During that period, the New Orleans area had the highest median rent at $1.15K per month and the highest median monthly income at $3.18K out of nine Louisiana metro areas. Its rent-to-income ratio was the third highest in the state.
Renter income and rent, Louisiana metro areas (2018–2022)
| 1. | Alexandria, LA area | $2,825 |
| 2. | Baton Rouge, LA area | $3,153 |
| 3. | Hammond, LA area | $2,497 |
| 4. | Houma, LA area | $2,852 |
| 5. | Lafayette, LA area | $2,686 |
| 6. | Lake Charles, LA area | $3,180 |
| 7. | Monroe, LA area | $2,278 |
| 8. | New Orleans, LA area | $3,150 |
| 9. | Shreveport, LA area | $2,678 |
