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CityLedger

Decatur vs Houma

Metro-area medians — Decatur, AL Metro Area vs Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Decatur comes out ahead, winning 6 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.

Decatur and Houma cost about the same to live in, but Decatur households earn about 12% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Decatur.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Decatur, AL
$57,754
take-home / yr · 23% to tax
$66,222
real value after local prices
Houma, LA
$59,439
take-home / yr · 21% to tax
$69,843
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Houma leaves you about $3,621/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Decatur
Houma
Livability (CityLedger)
41/100
38/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
87.2
85.1
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$79,721
$73,250
Median household income
$69,526
$62,338
Median rent
$899/mo
$980/mo
Median home value
$219,800
$192,000
Unemployment
4.1%
3.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher
21.8%
20.3%
Average commute
28 min
27.2 min
Air quality (median AQI)
44
48
Avg temperature
61°F
70°F

Choose Decatur for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median household income
  • + Median rent
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Decatur profile →

Choose Houma for

  • + Median home value
  • + Unemployment
Full Houma profile →

Decatur vs Houma — frequently asked

Is Decatur cheaper than Houma?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Decatur and Houma metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Decatur or Houma?
Decatur has the higher median household income — $69,526 versus $62,338 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 12% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Decatur or Houma?
A paycheck stretches further in Decatur. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $79,721 there versus $73,250 in Houma.
Which has cheaper rent, Decatur or Houma?
Decatur has cheaper rent — a median of $899/mo versus $980/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).