Population
Gastonia
81,632
Lafayette
121,537
Median Income
Gastonia
$60,554
Lafayette
$61,454
Home Value
Gastonia
$250,000
Lafayette
$251,300
Rent
Gastonia
$1,145
Lafayette
$1,065
Crime Rate
Gastonia
8.49
Lafayette
10.66
Cost of Living
Gastonia
107.3
Lafayette
103.3
Avg Temp
Gastonia
N/A
Lafayette
N/A
Unemployment
Gastonia
5.2%
Lafayette
5.0%
How Similar Are Gastonia & Lafayette?
Lafayette is Gastonia's #7 most similar city
6 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Gastonia
81,632
Lafayette
121,537
Lafayette has a 33% larger population than Gastonia.
Violent Crime
Gastonia
8.49
Lafayette
10.66
Lafayette has a 20% higher violent crime than Gastonia.
Property Crime
Gastonia
35.14
Lafayette
43.48
Lafayette has a 19% higher property crime than Gastonia.
Political Leaning
Gastonia
62.1%
Lafayette
64.8%
Both cities lean Republican with similar vote shares — 4% difference.
Unemployment
Gastonia
5.2%
Lafayette
5.0%
Both cities have similar unemployment — just a 3% difference.
Median Income
Gastonia
$60,554
Lafayette
$61,454
Both cities have similar median income — just a 1% difference.
Home Values
Gastonia
$250,000
Lafayette
$251,300
Both cities have similar home values — just a 1% difference.
Education
Gastonia
18.4%
Lafayette
27.9%
Lafayette has a 34% higher education than Gastonia.
Demographics
Gastonia
55.2%
Lafayette
59.1%
Both cities have similar demographics — just a 7% difference.
Cost of Living
Gastonia
107.3
Lafayette
103.3
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 4% difference.
6 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Gastonia and Lafayette share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Gastonia
0
Lafayette
Lafayette leads in 3 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Lafayette leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDLafayette has a fair market rent (1br) of $898 vs $1,538 in Gastonia (71% lower). Lafayette has a fair market rent (2br) of $1,019 vs $1,686 in Gastonia (65% lower). Lafayette scores 116.2 on the housing index (100 = national avg) vs 125.9 in Gastonia.
Overall Cost Index
Housing Index
Food Index
Transportation Index
Healthcare Index
Utilities Index
Living Wage (1 Adult)
Living Wage (Family of 4)
Fair Market Rent (1BR)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)
Housing Market — Lafayette leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSLafayette has a median property tax of $1,455 vs $2,355 in Gastonia (62% lower). Gastonia has a vacancy rate of 8.7% compared to 10.9% in Lafayette. Lafayette has a median rent of $1,065 vs $1,145 in Gastonia (8% lower).
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSLafayette: 62,089 vs Gastonia: 40,874 for labor force. Gastonia has a poverty rate of 14.3% compared to 19.1% in Lafayette. Lafayette has a per capita income of $39,861 vs $33,611 in Gastonia (16% higher).
Median Household Income
Per Capita Income
Poverty Rate
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force
Mean Commute
Work from Home
Private Sector
Government Sector
Crime & Safety — Gastonia leads
Source: FBI UCRLafayette has a robbery rate (per 1k) of 0.69 compared to 1.23 in Gastonia. Gastonia has a murder rate (per 1k) of 0.05 compared to 0.15 in Lafayette. Gastonia has a property crime clearance of 23.8% compared to 16.8% in Lafayette.
Violent Crime Rate (per 1K)
Property Crime Rate (per 1K)
Murder Rate (per 1K)
Robbery Rate (per 1K)
Assault Rate (per 1K)
Burglary Rate (per 1K)
Larceny Rate (per 1K)
Violent Crime Clearance
Property Crime Clearance
Weather & Climate
Source: NOAA / Open-MeteoAvg Annual Temperature
Avg Annual High
Avg Annual Low
Sunny Days per Year
Annual Rainfall
Annual Snowfall
Avg Humidity
Schools & Education — Lafayette leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauLafayette has a bachelor's degree or higher of 27.9% compared to 18.4% in Gastonia. Lafayette has a high school diploma or higher of 45.3% compared to 37.2% in Gastonia.
Public Schools
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio
Colleges & Universities
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
High School Diploma or Higher
Demographics & Community
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSLafayette has a population of 121,537, about 1.5x the size of Gastonia (81,632).
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Gastonia
Lafayette
Healthcare — Gastonia leads
Source: CMS Hospital CompareGastonia: 5 vs Lafayette: 3 for with emergency services. Gastonia: 3.2 vs Lafayette: 2.0 for avg cms rating (out of 5).
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSLafayette has a bicycle of 0.5% compared to 0.0% in Gastonia. Gastonia has a public transit of 1.0% compared to 0.6% in Lafayette. Lafayette has a drive alone of 80.4% compared to 77.7% in Gastonia.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to Gastonia, NC
Compare Gastonia against its closest statistical matches across demographics, income, crime, health, and more.
City Comparison
8-axis fingerprint: population, income, housing, crime, education, age, climate, and cost of living. Click legend items to toggle.