re: What income it takes to be considered "middle class" in Louisiana

Don't care, still the best state in the country

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NOLA has a much larger shite housing stock than BR. I suspect that's what is skewing the numbers.

For normal people who are never going to want to live in a shite ghetto house, NOLA is going to be more expensive.

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You can still buy a DR Horton, DLSD or older home in BR for 250-275k'ish in an area where you probably won't get shot. I'd guess NOLA would be a good bit more expensive. Homeowner's insurance as well.

(no message)

I wonder what income it takes for Natchitoches and Ruston.

Both are college towns and desirable places to live.

In Bogalusa it’s minimum wage

let’s be realistic
if you went to college (and/or you have any monetizable skills) 70K salary is starting wage in 2024. My daughter is mid 20’s she did get a grad degree but it’s in literature…she started in marketing jobs well over 70k first day.

Todays young adults have skills that can be applied to many disparate workplaces that we never dreamed about in the 80s. There’s more ways to make money now than there ever has been before, and there will be more than that tomorrow.

This assumes one is intelligent, well adjusted, pleasant to be around and generally has their shite together. I realize that’s a shrinking segment of society today but I’m assuming most people here fit that criteria and the less other people do, is more opportunity for those who do

Damn we are one poor arse state

Lafayette over LCH is interesting but I can see it.

The question we should be asking is how much net worth makes you post economic in Louisiana.

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Damn we are one poor arse state

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Yes

I did read in a few places that Louisiana's GDP is far higher than its poverty levels would indicate.

Even without advanced degrees, a motivated person with average intellectual horsepower could meet or exceed those numbers. That is the good news.

The bad news is that those numbers are still pretty low, which means that the state as a whole is likely on the lower side of average when it comes to income. We need to diversify the economies in the larger cities, continue enabling the industrial expansion in the southern part of the state, and try to draw some manufacturing jobs to the Monroe and Shreveport area.

Some thoughts.......
 

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Baton Rouge: $64,222

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Very strong and growing industrial base (for its metro size) with a lot of specialized, high skill jobs that are well compensated. It's also a regional medical and finance hub with a catchment area that's surprisingly large; and that tends to bring up the average. One of the state's largest healthcare companies is based there along with the state's largest health insurance company. It's also a large shipping/distribution hub for bulk agricultural and oil/gas products + state government on the lower/middle end of the salary ranges. The state's largest university + some research along with a few big engineering companies bringing up the average reliably. A lot of agriculture in the metro area that also boosts the lower end and tends to be reliable job producers. Not as many tech jobs or white collar jobs outside of engineering or higher ed as you'd think. Traditionally low unemployment rates relative to its peers.

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Lake Charles: $62,184

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Massive industrial base for it's size. Some lucrative manufacturing jobs on the higher end, plus a lot of hospitality jobs on the lower end of the spectrum. Construction to support the industrial expansion and storm recovery has definitely been an influential factor here. Traditionally low unemployment rates too. I'm personally rooting for Lake Charles to really explode in growth.

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New Orleans/Metairie: $61,602

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Shipping/distribution is huge in the middle tier of the salary ranges. New Orleans has a solid manufacturing and industrial base with some specialized jobs that are on the higher end of the range, but that's been sort of stagnant in the past couple of decades. Shipbuilding and the loss of major corporate HQ's over the years have probably put downward pressure on salaries and comp. It's also a growing medical hub that's on the higher end of the range. Higher ed is big here as well. Hospitality and tourism jobs are huge here, and they tend to be on the lower end of the skill and comp level. Big legal community. Not as many tech jobs as you'd think. Unemployment tends to be higher than state average.

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Houma/Thibodaux: $58,332

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Very blue collar town......lots of income from offshore oil and gas, some shipbuilding and manufacturing in Houma that is on the middle and higher end of the salary range. That definitely boosts Houma's average considering how small it is.

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Alexandria: $56,339

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I honestly have no idea. There are a handful of manufacturing employers and timber/forestry businesses. But this is kind of surprising. It's a very small town, but I thought unemployment and poverty was a real problem here. Maybe someone from the area can chime in.

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Hammond: $55,391

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Higher ed mostly, centrally located in a growing region. Fairly small town so it makes sense that salaries are higher than similarly sized, more isolated towns like McComb or Monroe.

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Shreveport/Bossier City: $52,775

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3rd largest city but 4th largest metro; declining manufacturing but there's still a big part of the local economy. A lot of military jobs and service companies in Bossier. Some hospitality jobs that are less lucrative. It's the largest city in that corner of the state, so it has the area's higher ed and finance jobs. Surprised it isn't lower given the astounding and devastating levels of poverty in Shreveport proper though.

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Lafayette: $50,837

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This is a big surprise. I know that there are a lot of lucrative fields that use Lafayette as a regional hub in the upstream oil/gas industry. Those unfortunately tend to be very unpredictable from an unemployment perspective. For its size, higher end is pretty big here and that's a solid boost. Big legal community.

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Monroe: $44,507

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Fairly diverse economy for such a small town. But it's a smaller market, isolated metro area. Some higher ed jobs, some tech jobs, and some manufacturing/forestry products jobs.