Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lake Charles vs. Athens Cost of Living Summary
Lake Charles is 16.1% more expensive than Athens.
- Restaurants
-
pay 26.7% more in Lake Charles
- Groceries
-
pay 49.6% more in Lake Charles
- Transportation
-
pay 29.5% less in Lake Charles
- Housing
-
pay 37.8% more in Lake Charles
- Childcare
-
pay 47.1% more in Lake Charles
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.8% less in Lake Charles
- Clothing
-
pay 36.3% less in Lake Charles
Lake Charles vs. Athens Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lake Charles instead of Athens, you would:
pay 26.7% more for restaurants
|
Athens
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.80
€15.07
|
$26.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.20
€10.05
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.82
€2.53
|
$2.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.56
€0.50
|
$1.25
|
|
Athens vs. Lake Charles - Cost of restaurants
pay 49.6% more for groceries
|
Athens
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.43
€1.28
|
$4.12
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.56
€6.78
|
$7.78
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.14
€6.40
|
$5.14
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.99
€4.47
|
$5.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.76
€4.27
|
$4.61
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.99
€0.89
|
$1.99
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.89
€0.80
|
$0.59
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.64
€0.57
|
$0.89
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.97
€0.87
|
$2.53
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.48
€0.43
|
$1.96
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.52
€0.46
|
$0.99
|
|
Athens vs. Lake Charles - Cost of groceries
pay 29.5% less for transportation
|
Athens
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.72
€7.82
|
$3.16
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$30.23
€27.12
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,970.99
€25,094.18
|
$35,578.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$12.54
€11.25
|
$15.43
|
|
Athens vs. Lake Charles - Cost of transportation
pay 37.8% more for housing
|
Athens
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$30.36
€27.24
|
$57.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$742.36
€666.01
|
$1,020.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$655.59
€588.16
|
$904.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$160.58
€144.06
|
$200.34
|
|
Athens vs. Lake Charles - Cost of housing
pay 47.1% more for childcare
|
Athens
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$573.57
€514.58
|
$1,563.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,885.92
€11,560.60
|
$10,230.00
|
|
Athens vs. Lake Charles - Cost of childcare
pay 2.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Athens
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.60
€5.02
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.11
€3.69
|
$5.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$5.60
€5.02
|
$8.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$54.57
€48.96
|
$32.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.64
€9.54
|
$12.00
|
|
Athens vs. Lake Charles - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 36.3% less for clothing
|
Athens
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$91.55
€82.14
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.01
€35.89
|
$43.07
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.08
€93.38
|
$60.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$123.50
€110.80
|
$120.31
|
|
Athens vs. Lake Charles - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Athens vs. Lake Charles
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Greece vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Greece and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Lake Charles or Athens. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.