$100k salary, packing up from Wilmington
changea dispatch from
new orleans
LA
29.95°N
90.07°W
New Orleans doesn't run on time, it runs on rhythm. The brass bands roll second-line parades through the streets for weddings, funerals, and Tuesdays, the gumbo is a personality test, and the French Quarter's wrought-iron balconies look exactly like the postcards. Mardi Gras is real life here, not a stunt. The air carries beignet sugar, river mist, and someone's trumpet warming up two blocks over.
in our guides
the verdict
under Wilmington, every month
A near-tie on cost. What separates New Orleans is the life around the numbers.
a quick ledger.
$1,612/mo
4% cheaper than Wilmington(vs $1,675/mo)
3%
$125/mo less in state tax than Wilmington
vs 4.5% in Wilmington
$6,471/mo
$188 more than Wilmington
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$259k
42% cheaper than Wilmington
vs $448k in Wilmington
962k
vs 467k in Wilmington
field notes, weather & such.
235
pleasant days a year, in new orleans.
Wilmington barely cracks 235 pleasant ones.
A month here packs 4.8× the events of Wilmington.
55/100
2% higher than Wilmington
vs 54/100 in Wilmington
Closest outdoor draw: Fontainebleau State Park District I, 27.2 mi.
98/100
46% higher than Wilmington
vs 67/100 in Wilmington
39
680% more than Wilmington
vs 5 nonstops in Wilmington
neighbors of new orleans on the map of tradeoffs:
compare new orleans with:
