What salary do you need to live in Lake Charles, LA?
Rent of $1,086 for a typical two-bedroom, a median home value of $207,800 and a price level 14.1 points below the national average: those three figures decide how far a salary goes in the Lake Charles, LA metro. Here is what they add up to at different incomes.
The cost side of living in Lake Charles
Median gross rent, meaning contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities, runs $839, $1,086 and $1,171 a month for one, two and three bedrooms across Lake Charles, LA. The largest of those is 40% more than the smallest.
The median value of owner-occupied homes in the metro is $207,800. Against a median household income of $66,700, the ratio is 3.1× — one of the gentler home-price-to-income ratios in the country.
BEA's Regional Price Parity for the metro is 85.9, where 100 is the US average. In plain terms, the full basket of goods, services and housing costs 14.1% less than average, so $100,000 here buys roughly what $116,480 would at average US prices.
How much you need to earn in Lake Charles
For two bedrooms, $97,000 is where Lake Charles turns Comfortable. Below that, $48,000 marks the start of Okay and $22,000 the start of Tight; under $22,000 the score reads Stretched. Rent at the Comfortable line is 13% of gross pay.
Royal, the top band, starts at $258,000. At that income rent is 5% of pay and the median home 0.8× income.
These lines come straight from the calculator's formula: the income is raised until the two-bedroom score crosses each cutoff, then rounded up to the next $1,000.
| Grade | Starts at | Rent ÷ income | Home ÷ income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal | $258,000 | 5% | 0.8× |
| Comfortable | $97,000 | 13% | 2.1× |
| Okay | $48,000 | 27% | 4.3× |
| Tight | $22,000 | 59% | 9.4× |
Four salaries, three home sizes in Lake Charles
Choosing a bigger place in Lake Charles at $75,000 trims the score from 62 to 57 without leaving Okay.
Of the four salaries, $100,000 is the first where a two-bedroom reads Comfortable or better; $75,000 still lands at Okay.
| Income | 1 bedroom | 2 bedrooms | 3 bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | 50 · Okay | 46 · Okay | 45 · Okay |
| $75,000 | 62 · Okay | 58 · Okay | 57 · Okay |
| $100,000 | 70 · Comfortable | 66 · Comfortable | 65 · Okay |
| $150,000 | 81 · Comfortable | 77 · Comfortable | 75 · Comfortable |
Where Lake Charles falls nationally
Ranked against all 387 metros, Lake Charles sits 372nd on overall price level and 228th on the two-bedroom rent median, counting from the most expensive. Its median home value ranks 288th.
For a sense of scale, the metros just above and below it on two-bedroom rent are Cleveland, OH ($1,088) and Logan, UT-ID ($1,086).
Lake Charles vs. the rest of Louisiana
Compared with Louisiana as a whole, two-bedroom rent in Lake Charles is 3% higher ($1,086 vs. $1,055) and the median home is 4% lower ($207,800 vs. $216,500).
Scored the same way, the statewide figures turn Comfortable at $103,000, so Lake Charles needs $6,000 less than Louisiana overall.
Looking for somewhere comparable without leaving Louisiana? Baton Rouge, LA, Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA, and Shreveport-Bossier City, LA have the closest mix of rent and overall prices.
| Metro | 2-bed rent | Median home | Price parity | Comfortable from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Charles, LA | $1,086 | $207,800 | 85.9 | $97,000 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | $1,112 | $241,100 | 90.8 | $118,000 |
| Houma, LA | $1,003 | $189,700 | 85.1 | $87,000 |
| Shreveport, LA | $980 | $191,600 | 84.8 | $87,000 |
The median Lake Charles household
The median household in the metro earns $66,700 (ACS 2020-2024). Run through the calculator with two bedrooms, that scores 55, Okay. The Comfortable line is 45% above what the median household makes. Statewide, the Louisiana median household ($60,756) grades Okay on the state's own medians. A household figure may pool several earners, unlike a single salary.
These are pre-tax estimates from public statistics, not financial advice.
Score your own income in Lake Charles
Enter your pre-tax income and home size to see Lake Charles next to all 387 metros.
Open the calculatorSource: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional price parities by MSA (MARPP), line 1 "RPPs: All items"; metros per OMB bulletin 23-01, 2024 (released February 19, 2026); downloaded 2026-10-30.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year B25031 Median Gross Rent by Bedrooms (_003/_004/_005 = 1/2/3 bedrooms), 2020-2024; downloaded 2026-10-30.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year B25077 Median Value (Dollars), owner-occupied housing units, 2020-2024; downloaded 2026-10-30.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year B19013 Median Household Income (display only), 2020-2024; downloaded 2026-10-30.
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.