Lake Charles vs New Orleans
The short version
- Lake Charles is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 7% lower than in the New Orleans area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $214,300 in Lake Charles and $315,700 in New Orleans.
- Lake Charles is growing faster: -2.7% since 2020 vs -5.7%.
- Commutes are shorter in Lake Charles (17 vs 23 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Lake Charles, LA | New Orleans, LA | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 82,676 | 362,154 |
| Growth since 2020 | -2.7% | -5.7% |
| People per square mile | 1,742 | 2,137 |
| Median age | 36.6 | 38.8 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 29% | 42% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $59,235 | $56,631 |
| Median home value | $214,300 | $315,700 |
| Home value to income | 3.6× | 5.6× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,109 | $1,251 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 85.9 | 92.6 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 51.8 | 86.0 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $64,400 | $69,400 |
| Homeowners | 61% | 51% |
| Top state income tax | 3% | 3% |
| Combined sales tax | 10.13% | 10.13% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 17.0 | 22.6 |
| Work from home | 5% | 15% |
| Take public transit | 0% | 5% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 6.6% | 7.5% |
| Poverty rate | 23.3% | 22.6% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 63° / 43° | 61° / 47° |
| July high / low | 92° / 76° | 91° / 78° |
| Precipitation per year | 60 in | 60 in |
| Snowfall per year | 0 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 88 | 86 |
| Nights below freezing | 11 | 2 |
| Comfortable months | 4 | 3 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 95.7 | 98.3 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 62% | 52% |
| Home prices, past year | +7.7% | +2.7% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +17.6% | +13.9% |
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: Lake Charles: February to April and November. New Orleans: February and October to November.
Full monthly tables: Lake Charles weather by month and New Orleans weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $64,400 in Lake Charles and $69,400 in New Orleans. Moving from Lake Charles to New Orleans, you would need about $80,900 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Lake Charles and New Orleans
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Lake Charles and New Orleans.
Which would you pick?
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