Lansing vs Los Angeles
The short version
- Lansing is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 16% lower than in the Los Angeles area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $128,700 in Lansing and $921,200 in Los Angeles.
- Households earn more in Los Angeles ($81,939 vs $54,382 median).
- Los Angeles has the warmer winter: January highs of 68°F vs 31°F.
- Lansing gets far more snow: 50 inches a year vs 0.
- Commutes are shorter in Lansing (19 vs 31 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Lansing, MI | Los Angeles, CA | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 113,884 | 3,869,089 |
| Growth since 2020 | +1.1% | -0.8% |
| People per square mile | 2,893 | 8,223 |
| Median age | 33.7 | 37.2 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 30% | 39% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $54,382 | $81,939 |
| Median home value | $128,700 | $921,200 |
| Home value to income | 2.4× | 11.2× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $993 | $1,933 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 95.0 | 113.6 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 83.5 | 170.4 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $71,200 | $85,200 |
| Homeowners | 54% | 36% |
| Top state income tax | 4.25% | 13.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 6% | 9.03% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 18.9 | 30.7 |
| Work from home | 15% | 20% |
| Take public transit | 3% | 6% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 8.2% | 8.2% |
| Poverty rate | 20.1% | 16.5% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 31° / 17° | 68° / 49° |
| July high / low | 83° / 61° | 82° / 65° |
| Precipitation per year | 33 in | 14 in |
| Snowfall per year | 50 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 9 | 26 |
| Nights below freezing | 142 | 0 |
| Comfortable months | 5 | 12 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively Moderate | Very High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 87.2 | 100.0 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 72% | 11% |
| Home prices, past year | +5.1% | +1.2% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +43% | +31.9% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Lansing: May to September. Los Angeles: January to December.
Full monthly tables: Lansing weather by month and Los Angeles weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $71,200 in Lansing and $85,200 in Los Angeles. Moving from Lansing to Los Angeles, you would need about $89,700 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Lansing and Los Angeles
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Lansing and Los Angeles.
Which would you pick?
One vote per person. Results show after you vote.