HomeLouisianaCalcasieu ParishLake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana: commercial real estate data.
Lake Charles is a Census city of 81,143 people across 47.47 square miles of land, in Calcasieu Parish. Median household income is $59,235, 60.9 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 86 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $59.6 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Lake Charles
What Lake Charles is
- Census place typecity
- Land area47.47 sq mi
- Water area2.87 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land1,709
- County holding the largest share of its areaCalcasieu Parish, 100.0 percent
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Lake Charles
How many people live in Lake Charles
- Population81,143
- Median age36.6
- Population under 1817,749
- Share under 1821.9 percent
- Population 65 and over13,747
- Share 65 and over16.9 percent
- Households32,077
- Family households18,634
- Share of households that are families58.1 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Lake Charles
Income and work in Lake Charles
- Median household income$59,235
- Per capita income$35,860
- Civilian labor force39,957
- Employed37,303
- Unemployed2,654 plus or minus 593
- Unemployment rate6.6 percent plus or minus 1.5
- Adults 25 and over54,137
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher90.5 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher29.1 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree10.9 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Lake Charles
Housing in Lake Charles
- Housing units40,742
- Occupied units32,077
- Vacant units8,665
- Vacancy rate21.3 percent
- Owner occupied19,532
- Renter occupied12,545
- Ownership rate60.9 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$214,300
- Median gross rent, monthly$1,109
- Annual rent as a share of median income22.5 percent
- Single family units28,559
- Share single family70.1 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more11,099
- Share in buildings of two or more27.2 percent
- Mobile homes1,058 plus or minus 440
- Median year structure built1981
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Lake Charles
How Lake Charles gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute35,130
- Commuting under 15 minutes15,857
- Share commuting under 15 minutes45.1 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more4,448
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more12.7 percent
- Drove alone80.2 percent
- Carpooled10.7 percent
- Public transport0.1 percent plus or minus 0.1
- Walked2.4 percent plus or minus 0.9
- Worked from home5.0 percent plus or minus 1.1
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Lake Charles
SBA loans in Lake Charles (7(a))
- Approvals86
- Gross approval$59,618,300
- Average approval$693,236
- Median approval$349,000
- Ninetieth percentile approval$1,730,000
- Largest approval$5,000,000
- Jobs supported900
- Jobs per approval10.5
- Loans with a final outcome23
- Paid in full17
- Charged off6
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more24.4 percent
- Share to franchises33.7 percent
- Distinct lenders32
- Distinct industries by NAICS51
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Lake Charles, in any county, FY2020 to FY2026. Only 23 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Lake Charles
SBA loans in Lake Charles (504)
- Approvals12
- Gross approval$12,096,000
- Average approval$1,008,000
- Median approval$397,000
- Largest approval$4,997,000
- Jobs supported161
- Loans with a final outcome3
- Charged off0
- Median term300 months
- Distinct CDCs3
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Lake Charles, in any county, FY2010 to FY2026. Only 3 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Lake Charles
Flood risk in Lake Charles
- NFIP communityCity of Lake Charles
- NFIP community number220040
- Participating in the NFIPYes
- Community Rating System classClass 10
- Currently effective map date02/18/11
The City of Lake Charles participates in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 220040 and carries Community Rating System class 10, a flood insurance premium discount for policies written there.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Calcasieu Parish, not Lake Charles
Calcasieu Parish context, not Lake Charles figures
- Establishments in Calcasieu Parish4,705
- Covered employment, Calcasieu Parish88,649
- Average annual pay, Calcasieu Parish$61,711
- Housing units permitted, Calcasieu Parish1,361
Every figure in this section is published for Calcasieu Parish as a whole and is not a measurement of Lake Charles.
All Calcasieu Parish figures →
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Parcel detail, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Common questions
Lake Charles questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Lake Charles, Louisiana?
81,143, in 32,077 households. Lake Charles city covers 47.47 square miles of land, which is 1,709 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Lake Charles in?
Calcasieu Parish, which holds 100.0 percent of the place by area. Source: US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage.
What is the median household income in Lake Charles?
$59,235. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $214,300. Median gross rent is $1,109 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Lake Charles businesses?
86 7(a) approvals totaling $59.6 m since FY2020, across 32 lenders, median approval $349,000, plus 12 504 approvals worth $12.1 m since FY2010. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Lake Charles, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Lake Charles borrowers get paid back?
No rate is published for Lake Charles. Only 23 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published. The counts are shown instead.
Is Lake Charles in the National Flood Insurance Program?
Yes. Lake Charles appears in the FEMA Community Status Book as Lake Charles, city of, community 220040, carrying Community Rating System class 10, which is a premium discount for exceeding the program minimum. Whether a specific parcel sits in a mapped special flood hazard area is an address level question the platform answers.
Are the county figures on this page Lake Charles figures?
No, and they are labeled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Calcasieu Parish as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Lake Charles.
Is zoning published for Lake Charles?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.
Nearby