Housing, rent, and a comparison to the US average.
The median home value in Lake Charles, LA is $204,081 as of 2026-04. That places Lake Charles below the US average for housing cost, with a cost index of approximately 57 versus a national baseline of 100.
Over the past 12 months, the median home value in Lake Charles has climbed 4.1%, and over the past five years it has averaged -0.9% annual growth. The current price sits -6.8% from its 5-year peak in 2022-08.
Renters pay a median of $1,152 per month in Lake Charles. Rents have changed +12.8% over the last year and averaged +0.5% per year over five years.
Beyond housing, day-to-day costs in Lake Charles are shaped by state and local taxes, utility rates, transportation, and groceries. This page focuses on the housing component, which is the largest single line in most household budgets and the easiest to compare across cities using consistent national data.
Housing
| Median home value | $204,081 |
| 1-year change | +4.1% |
| 5-year price growth | -0.9% |
| 10-year price growth | +0.3% |
| vs 5-year peak | -6.8% |
Source: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI).
How Lake Charles compares
| Cost index | 57 (below US) |
| Median home vs US (~$355k) | -42.5% |
| Population | 81,157 |
| Momentum score | 49 (Stable) |
Cost index is currently a housing-only proxy; full BLS basket coming with ACS pull.
Affordability reality
Prices only mean something against local pay. Here’s how Lake Charles’s housing lines up with what people here actually earn.
| Median rent vs income | 23% of local median income |
| Home price-to-income | 3.4× local median income |
At $1,152/mo, rent eats about 23% of the local median household income of $59,235 — within the 30% rule of thumb for affordable housing.
The median home runs about 3.4× the local median income (stretched).
Daily life in Lake Charles
Climate
Summers run warm (highs near 91°F) and winters are mild (highs near 61°F).
Natural-hazard & insurance risk
Insurance heads-up: in Lake Charles, flood damage isn’t covered by standard home insurance — budget for a separate NFIP/private flood policy and check the FEMA flood zone for the exact address.
Getting around
The average commute is 18 min — shorter than the US average of ~27 min; 5% of workers are remote; 61% own their home.
Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.