Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,569, settled in 1858.
Lake Arthur gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $102K for a typical one, or 1.5 years of the Lake Charles metro’s $67K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 5th among Louisiana's 161 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. On CDC estimates, its residents' health ranks in the bottom 2% nationally, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 85% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 87% of U.S. towns. Lake Arthur’s average trip to work is 47 minutes, above both the Louisiana town median (24 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Of the 53 Louisiana towns we compare, none has a lower violent crime rate than Lake Arthur. Narrows Plantation House and Hebert House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Lake Arthur beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Lake Arthur | LA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 32.4% | 18.1% |
Where Lake Arthur’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Louisiana), ordered by how far Lake Arthur is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,093 in 1910, a peak of 3,615 in 1980, 2,595 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 5 maps from 1946 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lake Arthur, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Lake Arthur.
Lake Arthur pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns.
Lake Arthur beats the Louisiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 20% of Lake Arthur adults report frequent physical distress. Among 161 Louisiana towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Lake Arthur.
| Lake Arthur | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 19% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 27% | 23% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 27% | 19% |
| What stands out | Lake Arthur | LA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 32.4% | 18.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 13.3% | 8.5% |
| More smokers | 23.8% | 17.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A for schools comes with an A+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $102K.
Its public schools are run by the Jefferson Davis Parish school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Arthur Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 441 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
Homes are within reach (about $102K for the typical one, A+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 33 miles. At 1.5 years of the Lake Charles metro’s $67K median household income, the typical home (about $102K) costs less against local pay than in 98% of Louisiana towns; that ratio is one input to its A+ for cost of living.
The median rent in Lake Arthur is $723 a month. The typical Lake Arthur home is worth about $102,000, down 1.7% in a year, 52% below the Louisiana typical home.
| Lake Arthur | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $723 a month | $992 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 6.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 100% of Louisiana’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 9 to 2 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Lake Arthur’s property crime rate is 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Since 1985, 39 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lake Arthur.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here fell from 408 in 2013 to 276. The average commute for its 920 working residents takes 46.9 minutes, against 25.7 across Louisiana.
Most working residents leave Lake Arthur for work: only 10% work in town. 23% of residents live below the poverty line in Lake Arthur. Jobs based in Lake Arthur fell to 276 in 2023, 132 fewer than in 2013.
| Lake Arthur | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 23% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Lake Arthur 7 Sw weather station, 7 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 307 days, longer than in 95% of U.S. towns. January nights average 43°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.4°.
Lake Arthur has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Lake Arthur | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 43°F | 42°F | 22°F |
| July high | 91°F | 92°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
None within 15 miles of Lake Arthur; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Lake Arthur residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Louisiana.
Town in Louisiana, United States
Lake Arthur is a town in Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lake Arthur had a population of 2,595. It is part of the Jennings Micropolitan Statistical Area. The current mayor is Sampson “poncho” Lejeune.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Lake Arthur grades B+ overall, better than 73% of U.S. towns and #5 of 161 in Louisiana. It grades D− for health, A for safety and A for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.