Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lake Charles earns a D, 122nd among Louisiana's 161 graded towns, mostly because of health and safety. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 91% of the country. Its police reported 533 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 91% of U.S. towns. One bright spot: its schools rank ahead of 81% of Louisiana towns. 54% of working residents work locally in Lake Charles, above both the Louisiana town median (9.8%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Charleston Hotel and Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. Only 7 of Louisiana’s 152 towns score higher on civic life.
Where Lake Charles beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Waters Pierce Oil Company Stable Building
Zachary Levi
Census counts: 474 in 1870, 84,872 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 6 maps from 1932 on.
16 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Louisiana), ordered by how far Lake Charles is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lake Charles, 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 Charles.
Lake Charles draws workers from Sulphur and beyond, has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and looks healthier within Louisiana than nationally.
46,491 jobs are based in Lake Charles, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17 minutes, against 25.7 across Louisiana.
The average trip to work in Lake Charles is 17 minutes. The top destinations are Sulphur (4%), Lafayette (2%) and Baton Rouge (2%). 23% of Lake Charles residents live below the poverty line.
| Lake Charles | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 23% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 5% | 5.6% | 11% |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Calcasieu Parish school district. Three of its 30 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. J. Welsh Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,011 | B |
| Alfred M. Barbe High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,908 | A− |
| T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 300 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
28 miles of trail in 24 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Prien Lake Park, 43 acres with 1.9 miles of trail. Lake Charles’ trail density is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Lake Charles | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.2% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Prien Lake Park | 1.9 mi | 43 |
| 2. Tuten Park | 1.1 mi | 21 |
| 3. Millennium Park | 0.9 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Within Louisiana it is healthier than 53% of the 161 graded towns: much of Louisiana scores lower on these measures.
46% of adults have obesity in Lake Charles. Lake Charles beats the Louisiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 36% of adults get no exercise outside work in Lake Charles.
| Lake Charles | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 43% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 34% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 44% | 35% |
| What stands out | Lake Charles | LA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 16.2% | 12.4% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 14.4% | 11.3% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 27.8% | 22.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 2,731 to 2,463 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Lake Charles reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 91% report less. Within Louisiana, it does better than 49% of towns.
| Lake Charles | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 24 per 1,000 residents | 23.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
3,560 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 641 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 88% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 3,560 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lake Charles.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 42.7°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.4°.
Lake Charles has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Lake Charles | 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
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Louisiana average. Lake Charles has lost 2.7% of its people since 2020, down to 82,676 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 29% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 27% across Louisiana.
| Lake Charles | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 36.6 years | 37.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 29% | 20% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 22% | 24% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.3 points. Across Louisiana, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.7, men 35.2.
| Lake Charles | LA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.7% | 12.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.2% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.4% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.9% | 13.3% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.6% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.2% | 11.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.1% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.3% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.7% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.5% | 12.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.3% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.1% | 20.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.1% | 7.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.2% | 17% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.9% | 10.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Lake Charles home is worth about $207,000, up 2.1% in a year, close to the Louisiana typical home.
| Lake Charles | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 68% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 57% | 59% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,109 a month | $989 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Lake Charles
About 7 of every 100 Lake Charles residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Louisiana.
71,993 counted in 2010 and 84,872 in 2020; an estimated 82,676 in 2025.
Since 2020 the trend has turned: down 2.7%, after 17.9% growth in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
16 places in Lake Charles on the National Register of Historic Places.
67 notable people were born in Lake Charles.
City in Louisiana, United States
Lake Charles is the fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on the namesake lake, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu Parish, it is a major industrial, cultural, and educational center in the southwest region of Louisiana. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Lake Charles's population was 84,872. The city and metropolitan area of Lake Charles is considered a significant center of petrochemical refining, gambling, tourism, and education, being home to McNeese State University and Sowela Technical Community College. Because of the lakes and waterways throughout the city, metropolitan Lake Charles is often c…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Lake Charles.
| Town | LA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Charles | #122 | D | B− | D | A− | D |
| Prien | #10 | B+ | B− | — | A− | B+ |
| Moss Bluff | #24 | B− | B− | — | A− | C+ |
Prien and Moss Bluff report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lake Charles with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lake Charles grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #122 of 161 in Louisiana. It grades D for health, D for safety and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Louisiana, it does better than 49% of towns.
That is 3.1 years of the area's median household income ($66,700 across the Lake Charles, LA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
67 notable people were born here, including Zachary Levi and Lucinda Williams.
