New Orleans vs Gulfport
The short version
- Gulfport is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 3% lower than in the New Orleans area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $174,600 in Gulfport and $315,700 in New Orleans.
- Households earn more in New Orleans ($56,631 vs $49,919 median).
- Gulfport is growing faster: +4.9% since 2020 vs -5.7%.
Side by side
| New Orleans, LA | Gulfport, MS | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 362,154 | 76,506 |
| Growth since 2020 | -5.7% | +4.9% |
| People per square mile | 2,137 | 1,375 |
| Median age | 38.8 | 38.0 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 42% | 24% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $56,631 | $49,919 |
| Median home value | $315,700 | $174,600 |
| Home value to income | 5.6× | 3.5× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,251 | $1,086 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 92.6 | 90.0 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 86.0 | 67.9 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $69,400 | $67,500 |
| Homeowners | 51% | 55% |
| Top state income tax | 3% | 4% |
| Combined sales tax | 10.13% | 7.06% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 22.6 | 21.9 |
| Work from home | 15% | 7% |
| Take public transit | 5% | 1% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 7.5% | 9.1% |
| Poverty rate | 22.6% | 22.8% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 61° / 47° | 61° / 42° |
| July high / low | 91° / 78° | 90° / 75° |
| Precipitation per year | 60 in | 63 in |
| Snowfall per year | 0 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 86 | 69 |
| Nights below freezing | 2 | 16 |
| Comfortable months | 3 | 4 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 98.3 | 95.6 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 52% | 61% |
| Home prices, past year | +2.7% | +3.5% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +13.9% | +42.5% |
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: New Orleans: February and October to November. Gulfport: February and October to December.
Full monthly tables: New Orleans weather by month and Gulfport weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $69,400 in New Orleans and $67,500 in Gulfport. Moving from New Orleans to Gulfport, you would need about $72,900 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between New Orleans and Gulfport
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from New Orleans and Gulfport.
Which would you pick?
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