Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lake Charles vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary
Lake Charles is 8.5% more expensive than Ottawa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 13.2% more in Lake Charles
- Groceries
-
pay 9.3% more in Lake Charles
- Transportation
-
pay 9.5% more in Lake Charles
- Housing
-
pay 5.2% more in Lake Charles
- Childcare
-
pay 31.7% more in Lake Charles
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.7% less in Lake Charles
- Clothing
-
pay 2.6% less in Lake Charles
The cost of childcare, restaurants, transportation, groceries, and housing in Lake Charles are more expensive than in Ottawa. Expenses including entertainment and sports and clothing are lower in Lake Charles.
Lake Charles vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lake Charles instead of Ottawa, you would:
pay 13.2% more for restaurants
|
Ottawa
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.99
CA$25.16
|
$26.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.01
CA$15.40
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CA$2.80
|
$1.65
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.56
CA$2.18
|
$2.10
|
|
Ottawa vs. Lake Charles - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.3% more for groceries
|
Ottawa
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.73
CA$3.82
|
$4.10
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.85
CA$8.18
|
$7.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.65
CA$12.10
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.52
CA$4.92
|
$4.54
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.74
CA$8.03
|
$4.97
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.91
CA$2.67
|
$1.99
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.60
CA$0.84
|
$0.59
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
CA$2.28
|
$0.89
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
CA$2.33
|
$2.46
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
CA$1.55
|
$1.91
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
CA$2.04
|
$0.99
|
|
Ottawa vs. Lake Charles - Cost of groceries
pay 9.5% more for transportation
|
Ottawa
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.05
CA$5.66
|
$2.98
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$97.12
CA$135.85
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,444.83
CA$34,192.21
|
$36,884.90
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.82
CA$20.73
|
$15.43
|
|
Ottawa vs. Lake Charles - Cost of transportation
pay 5.2% more for housing
|
Ottawa
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.93
CA$69.84
|
$60.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,452.55
CA$2,031.76
|
$1,050.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,228.71
CA$1,718.66
|
$1,000.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.93
CA$166.35
|
$174.91
|
|
Ottawa vs. Lake Charles - Cost of housing
pay 31.7% more for childcare
|
Ottawa
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$788.18
CA$1,102.46
|
$1,563.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,753.32
CA$22,034.96
|
$10,230.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. Lake Charles - Cost of childcare
pay 6.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Ottawa
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.76
CA$8.05
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.74
CA$5.24
|
$4.42
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.95
CA$18.11
|
$8.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.60
CA$62.39
|
$32.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.79
CA$15.09
|
$11.50
|
|
Ottawa vs. Lake Charles - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.6% less for clothing
|
Ottawa
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.82
CA$73.89
|
$47.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.91
CA$54.43
|
$43.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.10
CA$121.83
|
$71.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.91
CA$129.96
|
$100.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. Lake Charles - 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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