Jobs in the United States → United States guide → Cities → Lafayette

Working in Lafayette, LA

Jobs, pay and daily life in Lafayette, from official statistics with source and year on every table.

In short: Lafayette (Louisiana): 121,715 residents, median household income $61,915, median rent $1,100, unemployment 3.4%.
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Map: Lafayette in Louisiana

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By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.

121,715residents (ACS 2024)
$61,915median household income
$1,100median rent a month
3.4%unemployment (BLS)
41.1%bachelor's degree or higher
53.1%homeowners

Overview

CITY (Lafayette) Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Lafayette is a city in Louisiana with 121,715 residents. The median household earns $61,915 a year and the median rent is $1,100 a month, which is 21.3% of the median household income. It is part of the Lafayette, LA metropolitan area, where BLS counts 179,570 jobs.

Federal jobs in Louisiana (780) →State guide: LouisianaCountry guide

Jobs

LIVE (federal) + METRO Live feed + official statistic Source: USAJOBS (federal jobs only) · BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 · Data: 07/11/2026

There are 780 federal postings open in Louisiana (USAJOBS, state level; we do not have a city filter for them). Private-sector jobs are not in this feed.

Open federal jobs in Louisiana →

Occupations with the most jobs in the metro (among our 240 niches)

Sort:
Occupation ⇅Jobs ⇅Location quotient ⇅Median pay (year) ⇅Entry (10th pct.) ⇅Top (90th pct.) ⇅Median vs US ⇅
Home Health and Personal Care Aides5,2001.05$21,400$18,440$30,410-40%
Retail Salespersons5,0101.11$28,600$21,770$41,730-19%
Registered Nurses4,9301.26$81,960$63,490$105,300-16%
General and Operations Managers4,5901.13$99,510$49,750$215,720-6%
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand4,5001.32$32,600$26,510$44,180-19%
Fast Food and Counter Workers4,4801.01$22,320$18,040$30,800-28%
Cashiers4,4801.26$24,920$18,490$33,130-24%
Office Clerks, General4,2401.49$34,510$21,340$47,970-23%
Waiters and Waitresses3,4101.30$15,080$15,080$36,320-57%
Food Preparation Workers3,2603.16$22,920$17,380$30,840-35%
Stockers and Order Fillers3,1700.97$31,310$26,970$44,800-16%
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers2,9201.23$49,450$36,730$70,570-16%
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products2,4301.70$62,800$33,900$120,810-13%
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive2,2101.12$38,060$26,310$53,230-20%
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners2,2000.86$28,460$21,100$39,590-23%
Customer Service Representatives2,1400.72$36,820$25,360$50,070-18%
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks2,1301.34$38,910$27,440$60,160-23%
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General2,1001.19$40,930$22,190$66,260-17%
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses2,1002.81$51,580$41,710$62,270-20%
Nursing Assistants1,9901.19$29,960$27,260$36,630-29%

Highest-paying occupations in the metro (at least 500 jobs)

Sort:
Occupation ⇅Jobs ⇅Location quotient ⇅Median pay (year) ⇅Entry (10th pct.) ⇅Top (90th pct.) ⇅Median vs US ⇅
Pharmacists5401.45$132,130$108,070$156,350-6%
Financial Managers5700.58$120,450$74,880$198,670-28%
Lawyers6500.74$111,160$60,160$221,890-30%
Software Developers6600.34$109,010$68,050$136,710-20%
Medical and Health Services Managers5800.84$103,270$62,960$174,240-17%
General and Operations Managers4,5901.13$99,510$49,750$215,720-6%
Managers, All Other1,6702.32$88,370$51,580$167,610-38%
Registered Nurses4,9301.26$81,960$63,490$105,300-16%
Project Management Specialists6600.53$80,720$52,850$132,480-21%
Engineers, All Other5202.91$80,650$57,190$128,580-34%
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers1,2301.31$71,980$45,360$119,470-10%
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers8201.05$69,720$43,470$101,420-6%
First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers8301.16$68,620$42,630$111,940-14%
Accountants and Auditors1,1000.65$67,630$47,380$103,090-19%
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators5300.33$64,950$34,780$139,380+45%
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products2,4301.70$62,800$33,900$120,810-13%
Business Operations Specialists, All Other1,3601.08$61,270$34,670$102,230-26%
Insurance Sales Agents7601.38$60,490$35,800$98,920-3%
Machinists9802.94$59,830$39,470$80,970+2%
Electricians7300.83$59,820$37,270$79,490-5%

Economy

METRO (Lafayette, LA) Official statistic Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · Data: OEWS May 2025; BLS 2026M09

These figures are for the whole Lafayette, LA metropolitan area, not the city alone.

Sort:
Occupation field ⇅Jobs ⇅Location quotient ⇅Median pay ⇅Median vs US ⇅
Office and Administrative Support22,5701.10$38,290-19%
Food Preparation and Serving Related18,4401.17$22,630-35%
Transportation and Material Moving17,3501.10$36,730-17%
Sales and Related17,3301.12$31,590-18%
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical14,3501.26$68,150-21%
Production11,5601.17$45,210-4%
Management10,7600.84$96,850-23%
Healthcare Support10,4001.14$28,220-26%
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair9,7401.39$48,510-19%
Construction and Extraction9,7301.31$49,000-18%
Educational Instruction and Library8,5500.81$51,360-15%
Business and Financial Operations6,7400.55$63,230-24%
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance4,6400.88$28,940-23%
Personal Care and Service3,3900.90$26,810-26%
Protective Service3,2900.75$42,280-16%
Architecture and Engineering2,3400.77$76,540-23%
Computer and Mathematical2,3000.38$80,250-27%
Community and Social Service2,2500.73$46,970-19%
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media1,4900.63$45,500-27%
Legal1,2400.83$74,720-27%
Life, Physical, and Social Science9800.57$70,880-14%
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry1200.24$44,190+21%

Median pay across all occupations: $41,780 (US $50,980); unemployment 3.4% (2026M09).

Industries where residents work

Sort:
Industry (residents) ⇅Share of employed residents ⇅
Education and health care25.8%
Professional, scientific, management, administrative14.6%
Retail trade12.2%
Arts, entertainment, accommodation, food11.3%
Construction5.7%
Finance, insurance, real estate5.0%
Other services4.7%
Manufacturing4.3%
Transportation, warehousing, utilities4.0%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining3.6%
Public administration3.4%
Wholesale trade3.2%
Information2.1%

Commuting

CITY (Lafayette) Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Sort:
How residents get to work ⇅Share ⇅
Drive alone80.4%
Public transit0.5%
Walk2.0%
Work from home9.9%
Commute of 45 minutes or more7.6%

Shares are of workers aged 16 and over; they describe residents, wherever they work.

Pay and cost

CITY + METRO Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · BEA Regional Price Parities · Data: ACS 2020–2024; RPP 2024

Sort:
Indicator ⇅Value ⇅
Median household income$61,915
Income per person$40,517
Median gross rent per month$1,100
Yearly rent as share of median household income21.3%
Median home value$257,000
Homeowners53.1%
Poverty rate18.3%
Price level of the metro area (US = 100)87.2
Metro median pay, all occupations$41,780

Does this salary work here? (estimate)

Estimate for a wage earner: 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (IRS), Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45% (+0.9% above $200,000 single / $250,000 married), and a state rate you set. It ignores credits, pre-tax deductions, local taxes and benefits. Sources: IRS: tax year 2026 inflation adjustments · SSA wage base per Federal Register notice 2025-19763.

State tax: Flat 3.00%.

People and education

CITY (Lafayette) Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Sort:
Indicator ⇅Value ⇅
Median age36.9
High school or higher (25+)90.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)41.1%
Born abroad7.0%
Labour force participation (16+)62.7%

Where the foreign-born residents come from (by region)

Asia1,532 (52.9%)
Latin America703 (24.3%)
Africa283 (9.8%)
Europe248 (8.6%)
Northern America131 (4.5%)

Work permits are federal: see permits and first steps.

Climate

CITY (Lafayette) Model estimate on a 0.5° grid Source: NASA POWER climatology (MERRA-2, 2001–2025) · Data: monthly means 2001–2025

Sort:
Month ⇅Mean temperature (°C) ⇅Mean temperature (°F) ⇅Precipitation (mm) ⇅
Jan10.751122
Feb12.955102
Mar16.66293
Apr20.469115
May24.376127
Jun27.582177
Jul28.082174
Aug28.082187
Sep25.979140
Oct21.471125
Nov16.06196
Dec12.354125

Satellite-reanalysis climatology on a grid of roughly 50 km, so it smooths local effects (hills, coast, city heat). It is not a weather-station record.

Nearby cities

CITY Calculation Source: straight-line distance from coordinates (Census Gazetteer) · Data: 2024

Sort:
City ⇅State ⇅Distance (straight line) ⇅Population ⇅Median household income ⇅Median rent ⇅
Baton RougeLA56 mi222,771$49,994$1,067
New OrleansLA126 mi362,701$58,821$1,310
JacksonMS181 mi146,631$42,071$1,055
ShreveportLA188 mi180,982$48,699$987
PasadenaTX191 mi149,433$64,927$1,213
PearlandTX202 mi127,514$118,842$1,860
HoustonTX203 mi2,387,910$64,361$1,408
MobileAL236 mi203,416$53,558$1,068
College StationTX256 mi124,570$50,900$1,194
Little RockAR313 mi203,436$63,003$1,106

Straight-line distance in miles, not driving distance.

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FAQ

How many people live in Lafayette?

121,715 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimate).

What is the median rent in Lafayette?

$1,100 a month (ACS 2020–2024), which is 21.3% of the median household income.

What is the median household income in Lafayette?

$61,915 (ACS 2020–2024, in 2024 dollars).

What is the unemployment rate in Lafayette?

3.4% (BLS metro area 2026M09).

Which state is Lafayette in?

Louisiana. See the state guide for minimum wage, taxes and pay.

Sources

Sources

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