Baton Rouge vs Lake Charles
The short version
- Lake Charles is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 5% lower than in the Baton Rouge area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $214,300 in Lake Charles and $234,700 in Baton Rouge.
- Households earn more in Lake Charles ($59,235 vs $49,994 median).
- Commutes are shorter in Lake Charles (17 vs 21 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Baton Rouge, LA | Lake Charles, LA | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 222,795 | 82,676 |
| Growth since 2020 | -1.7% | -2.7% |
| People per square mile | 2,563 | 1,742 |
| Median age | 31.5 | 36.6 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 37% | 29% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $49,994 | $59,235 |
| Median home value | $234,700 | $214,300 |
| Home value to income | 4.7× | 3.6× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,067 | $1,109 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 90.8 | 85.9 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 74.2 | 51.8 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $68,100 | $64,400 |
| Homeowners | 48% | 61% |
| Top state income tax | 3% | 3% |
| Combined sales tax | 10.13% | 10.13% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 21.0 | 17.0 |
| Work from home | 8% | 5% |
| Take public transit | 1% | 0% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 9.2% | 6.6% |
| Poverty rate | 25.7% | 23.3% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 62° / 42° | 63° / 43° |
| July high / low | 92° / 74° | 92° / 76° |
| Precipitation per year | 62 in | 60 in |
| Snowfall per year | 0 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 96 | 88 |
| Nights below freezing | 18 | 11 |
| Comfortable months | 3 | 4 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 98.0 | 95.7 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 36% | 62% |
| Home prices, past year | +2.8% | +7.7% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +24.4% | +17.6% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Baton Rouge: February to March and November. Lake Charles: February to April and November.
Full monthly tables: Baton Rouge weather by month and Lake Charles weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $68,100 in Baton Rouge and $64,400 in Lake Charles. Moving from Baton Rouge to Lake Charles, you would need about $70,900 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Baton Rouge and Lake Charles
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Baton Rouge and Lake Charles.
Which would you pick?
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