Cost Of Living in Brownsville, LA

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Brownsville	Louisiana	National
Cost of living	76	91	100
Goods & Services	88	96	100
Groceries	94	95	100
Health care	103	99	100
Housing	48	81	100
Transportation	88	96	100
Utilities	78	84	100

New Real Estate Listings in Brownsville Area

For Sale For Rent

Search

Search Homes for Sale in Brownsville, LA

See How Much House You Can Afford. Get Pre-Approved Today

Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Brownsville is 16% lower than the Louisiana average
The cost of living in Brownsville is 24% lower than the national average
Brownsville housing is 52% lower than the national average
Louisiana general sales tax is 13% lower than the national average
Louisiana state income tax is 29% lower than the national average

Most Affordable Places to Live in and Around Brownsville

See all the best places to live around Brownsville

Compare Brownsville, LA Cost of Living

Write a review to give others more information about this area.

See all Brownsville poll results

The best places in Louisiana

Here are the best places to live in Louisiana

Check out the 10 safest cities in Louisiana

These are the largest cities in Louisiana

These are the 10 cheapest cities in Louisiana

Salary Calculator

This is how much you would need to earn in

Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$26,638	$2,220	$622	$799
Renters	$22,741	$1,895	$531	$682

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Brownsville, LA, is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In Brownsville, the median monthly income is $26,638 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $622 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $22,741, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $531 on monthly rental expenses.

Louisiana Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Louisiana	4.45%	11.45%

Louisiana Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Louisiana	1.85%	4.25%

Goods & Services

Item	Brownsville	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$23.22	$24.26	4.3%
Beauty Salon	$46.11	$45.56	1.2%
Toothpaste	$3.52	$3.70	4.9%
Shampoo	$1.33	$1.28	3.9%
Movie	$12.98	$12.13	7.0%
Bowling	$20.00	$18.00	11.1%

Groceries

Item	Brownsville	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.31	$5.84	8.0%
Fried Chicken	$1.67	$1.57	6.2%
Milk	$4.61	$4.67	1.3%
Potatoes	$5.17	$4.93	4.8%
Pizza	$10.99	$12.09	9.1%
Beer	$9.63	$10.41	7.5%

Health Care

Item	Brownsville	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$110.11	$125.68	12.4%
Doctor	$173.89	$135.78	28.1%
Dentist	$128.33	$113.29	13.3%
Ibuprofen	$10.39	$10.65	2.5%
Lipitor	$524.60	$468.60	12.0%

Housing

Item	Brownsville	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$73,000.00	$184,700.00	60.5%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$3,477.84	$2,346.69	48.2%
Apartment Rent	$632.00	$949.00	33.4%

Transportation

Item	Brownsville	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.15	$3.46	9.0%
Tire Balancing	$56.44	$59.92	5.8%

Utilities

Item	Brownsville	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$126.52	$193.99	34.8%
Phone	$186.90	$192.25	2.8%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Bawcomville, LA	2,150	75	24.6%
Richwood, LA	4,778	76	24.4%
West Monroe, LA	12,431	83	16.7%
Sterlington, LA	2,753	85	15.2%
Lakeshore, LA	2,800	85	14.7%
Brownsville, LA	3,718	76	23.7%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Ormstown, QC	3,717	n/a
Johnson, AR	3,719	98	1.8%
Thorndale, PA	3,719	116	16.1%
Oneida, TN	3,719	80	20.4%
West Menlo Park, CA	3,720	336	236.2%
Brownsville, LA	3,718	76	23.7%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

Cost of Living in Brownsville, LA