Metro Life Score
Lake Charles, LA
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade A-, 88th percentile of the national corpus.
- 60.6
- Life Score / 100
- A-
- Grade (curved)
- #47
- of 387 metros
- 88%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Lake Charles is top-quartile composite Life Score — #47 of 387 (60.6/100, grade A-, 88th percentile). Carried by environment at 96/100; held back most by wages at 15/100.
- 88th
- composite percentile
- #47
- of 387 peers
- 96th
- cost dimension percentile
- 15th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · ENVIRO-LED · signature cost
Lake Charles: affordability leads the Life Score story
Lake Charles is a TOP-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 96th percentile of 387 US metros (FLOOR) while composite is #47 (60.6/100, grade A-). Environment at 96/100 carries the upside; Wages at 15/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Lake Charles, LA ranks #47 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #16 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 85.9 (rent-RPP 51.8). BLS median salary $58,097, 93,170 jobs (Cashiers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,217/mo (studio $921).
FBI UCR (LA): 410 violent, 1773 property/100K. NCES: 13.6:1 ratio, 11.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,396/yr. EPA: 29 Superfund sites (LA).
Where Lake Charles sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
61 Top 12% higher than 88% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 60.6 is built
Lake Charles's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Lake Charles scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are LA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Lake Charles With...
Ranking Context
Lake Charles outranks 88% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #44 | Decatur, IL | 60.7 | A- |
| #45 | Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 60.7 | A- |
| #46 | Parkersburg-Vienna, WV | 60.8 | A- |
| #47 | Lake Charles, LA | 60.6 | A- |
| #48 | Grand Island, NE | 60.3 | A- |
| #49 | Baton Rouge, LA | 60.2 | A- |
| #50 | Eagle Pass, TX | 60.2 | A- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Lake Charles, LA's quality rank (top 12% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 4% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
LA Metro Scores
Read with Lake Charles
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Lake Charles (TOP · ENVIRO-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
ABS(composite) peer at 60.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's TOP · ENVIRO-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Decatur, IL
ABS(composite) peer at 60.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's TOP · ENVIRO-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV
ABS(composite) peer at 60.8 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's TOP · ENVIRO-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Grand Island, NE
ABS(composite) peer at 60.3 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's TOP · ENVIRO-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Jonesboro, AR (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 96/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Hot Springs, AR (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 96/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Lake Charles, LA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · ENVIRO-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Lake Charles's top-third Life Score
Lake Charles scores 60.6/100 overall, but Environment (96.4) and Wages (15.0) sit 81.3 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Lake Charles's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Monroe is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Monroe
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.