Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Lake Charles Cost of Living Summary
United States is 20.2% more expensive than Lake Charles.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.1% more in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 11.9% more in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 5.5% more in United States
- Housing
-
pay 25.2% more in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 57.7% more in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 21.9% more in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 10.0% more in United States
The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, and restaurants in United States are more expensive than in Lake Charles.
United States vs. Lake Charles Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Lake Charles, you would:
pay 9.1% more for restaurants
|
Lake Charles
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.00
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.65
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.10
|
$2.00
|
|
Lake Charles vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 11.9% more for groceries
|
Lake Charles
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.10
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.67
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.25
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.54
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.97
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.99
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.59
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.89
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.46
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$1.38
|
|
Lake Charles vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 5.5% more for transportation
|
Lake Charles
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.98
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,884.90
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.43
|
$17.61
|
|
Lake Charles vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 25.2% more for housing
|
Lake Charles
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$60.00
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,050.00
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,000.00
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$174.91
|
$150.19
|
|
Lake Charles vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 57.7% more for childcare
|
Lake Charles
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,563.89
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,230.00
|
$23,196.46
|
|
Lake Charles vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 21.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Lake Charles
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.42
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.50
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$32.00
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.50
|
$13.64
|
|
Lake Charles vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.0% more for clothing
|
Lake Charles
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.50
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.00
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$71.00
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$100.00
|
$112.04
|
|
Lake Charles vs. United States - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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