Lake Charles composite
60.6 /100
Grade A- · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Lake Charles vs Paducah
Lake Charles, LA and Paducah, KY-IL side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 60.6
- Lake Charles Life Score
- A-
- Lake Charles grade
- 72.8
- Paducah Life Score
- A+
- Paducah grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Lake Charles scores higher on 3 (cost of living, schools, environment) and Paducah on 4 (wages, rent, safety, childcare). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Lake Charles Paducah ◗
cost of living
96
94
wages
15
40
rent
62
96
safety
29
85
schools
66
51
childcare
85
88
environment
96
51
Lake Charles and Paducah differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Lake Charles has a cost-of-living index of 85.9 vs Paducah's 86.1 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $58,097 in Lake Charles and $62,516 in Paducah. A 2-bedroom averages $1,217/mo vs $969/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Lake Charles vs Paducah Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Lake Charles and Paducah works out to $2,976 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Lake Charles carries the same local purchasing power as $100,270 in Paducah - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 410.0 per 100,000 residents in LA vs 225.5 in KY, with property-crime rates of 1772.7 and 1397.1 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: LA lists 1,330 public schools at a 13.6:1 student-teacher ratio, while KY lists 1,395 schools at 15.1:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $7,396/yr in the Lake Charles area versus $7,238/yr in Paducah - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Lake Charles and Paducah are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Paducah composite
72.8 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
46 pts
Lake Charles cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
56 pts
Paducah safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Lake Charles
Lake Charles composite (Grade A-)
Paducah
Paducah composite (Grade A+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Lake Charles | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 85.9 | 86.1 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 96.0 |
| Services | 71.7 | 76.9 |
| Rents | 51.8 | 48.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Paducah gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Lake Charles?
$
Equivalent in Paducah:
$100,270
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Lake Charles: 85.9, Paducah: 86.1, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Lake Charles | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $921/mo | $784/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $928/mo | $789/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,217/mo | $969/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,459/mo | $1,348/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,611/mo | $1,415/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Lake Charles | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $58,097 | $62,516 |
| Total Employment | 93,170 | 43,110 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Lake Charles (LA) | Paducah (KY) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 410.0 | 225.5 |
| Property Crime | 1772.7 | 1397.1 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | LA | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,330 | 1,395 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 13.6:1 | 15.1:1 |
| Charter Schools | 11.4% | 0.0% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | LA | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,396/yr | $7,238/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,237/yr | $6,605/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,111/yr | $6,605/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | LA | KY |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 467 | 489 |
| Water Systems | 815 | 375 |
| Superfund Sites | 29 | 20 |
| Water Violations | 14,536 | 1,864 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Lake Charles | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 47.0 | 42.0 |
| Good Air Days | 62.2% | 74.3% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 3 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | LA | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 10/100 | 1/100 |
| Total Violations | 115,060 | 80,482 |
| Health-Based Violations | 62,164 | 12,554 |
| Systems with Violations | 92.5% | 99.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | LA | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 47/100 | 56/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 53.1% | 44.5% |
| HPSA Designations | 523 | 701 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | LA | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 47/100 | 71/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 62.4 | 44.2 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 56.8 | 41.4 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lake Charles more expensive than Paducah? ▼
Lake Charles has a cost of living index of 85.9 compared to Paducah's 86.1 (national average = 100). Paducah is 0.2 points above Lake Charles on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Lake Charles and Paducah? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,217/mo in Lake Charles vs $969/mo in Paducah, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $921/mo to $784/mo.
How do salaries compare between Lake Charles and Paducah? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $58,097 in Lake Charles and $62,516 in Paducah, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Lake Charles has the same purchasing power as $100,270 in Paducah.
Is Lake Charles or Paducah safer? ▼
At the state level, LA has a violent crime rate of 410.0 per 100,000 residents compared to KY's 225.5 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1772.7 vs 1397.1 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Lake Charles and Paducah? ▼
LA has 1,330 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.6:1, while KY has 1,395 schools at 15.1:1. Charter schools make up 11.4% of LA schools vs 0.0% in KY. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare