PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Lake Charles, LA

56.7
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#100
of 387 metros
74%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Lake Charles ranks #100 of 387 US metros, ahead of 74% - carried by its cost of living (96/100) and held back most by wages (9/100).

96
strongest: Cost of Living
90
then: Schools
9
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Lake Charles sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

57 74th percentile higher than 74% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). This entry sits in this band. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Lake Charles Life Score

Lake Charles's composite score of 56.7 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #100 of 387, ahead of 74% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (96/100) and Schools (90/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (9/100) and Safety (27/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 16.8:1 ratio, 11.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,396/yr. EPA: 29 Superfund sites (LA). Ranks #97-#103 below.

Dimension detail

How Lake Charles scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 96/100 (20%)
Wages 9/100 (20%)
Rent 62/100 (15%)
Safety 27/100 (15%)
Schools 90/100 (10%)
Childcare 85/100 (10%)
Environment 49/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

85.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$58,097
Avg Median Salary
$1,217
2BR Fair Market Rent
410
Violent Crime/100K (LA)
16.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,396
Infant Childcare/yr (LA)
29
Superfund Sites (LA)
93,170
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Lake Charles With...

Lake Charles vs Monroe Compare → Lake Charles vs Shreveport Compare → Lake Charles vs Lafayette Compare → Lake Charles vs Wildwood Compare → Lake Charles vs Waterloo Compare → Lake Charles vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Lake Charles outranks 74% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#97 Madison, WI 56.9 B+
#98 Greensboro-High Point, NC 56.9 B+
#99 Dalton, GA 56.9 B+
#100 Lake Charles, LA 56.7 B+
#101 Anniston-Oxford, AL 56.7 B+
#102 Beckley, WV 56.5 B+
#103 Niles, MI 56.5 B+

LA Metro Scores

Monroe, LA A 63.5 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA A 62.9 Lafayette, LA A- 61.2 New Orleans-Metairie, LA B+ 58.7 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA B+ 58.6 Hammond, LA B+ 57.8

Using Lake Charles's Life Score

Lake Charles is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is cost of living (96/100) and its weakest is wages (9/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Lake Charles head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Lake Charles lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Lake Charles's biggest strengths? ▼
Lake Charles's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (96/100), Schools (90/100), Childcare (85/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Lake Charles's weakest areas? ▼
Lake Charles's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (9/100), Safety (27/100), Environment (49/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Lake Charles compared to the national average? ▼
Lake Charles's Regional Price Parity is 85.9 (14.1% less than national); rent RPP 51.8.
What is the average salary in Lake Charles? ▼
Lake Charles median salary: $58,097, 93,170 jobs. Top: Cashiers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Lake Charles's 56.7/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.