Cost of living comparison

compared to

Lake Charles vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Lake Charles is 17.0% more expensive than Rome.

Restaurants
pay 14.3% more in Lake Charles
Groceries
pay 20.7% more in Lake Charles
Transportation
pay 19.0% less in Lake Charles
Housing
pay 17.4% more in Lake Charles
Childcare
pay 84.3% more in Lake Charles
Entertainment and Sports
pay 16.9% more in Lake Charles
Clothing
pay 15.6% less in Lake Charles

The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Lake Charles are more expensive than in Rome. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Lake Charles. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Lake Charles.

Lake Charles vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lake Charles instead of Rome, you would:

pay 14.3% more for restaurants

 
Rome
Lake Charles
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.52
€15.11
$26.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.68
€10.07
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.50
€2.16
$1.65
 

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pay 20.7% more for groceries

 
Rome
Lake Charles
Bread
1 loaf
$2.21
€1.91
$4.10
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $9.54
€8.23
$7.67
 
Milk (1 gallon) $7.12
€6.14
$5.25
 

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pay 19.0% less for transportation

 
Rome
Lake Charles
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.66
€6.61
$2.98
 
Monthly public transit pass $40.88
€35.25
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $29,199.74
€25,179.72
$36,884.90
 

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pay 17.4% more for housing

 
Rome
Lake Charles
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$32.12
€27.69
$60.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,436.63
€1,238.84
$1,050.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $927.65
€799.94
$1,000.00
 

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pay 84.3% more for childcare

 
Rome
Lake Charles
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $568.18
€489.96
$1,563.89
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,951.36
€9,443.66
$10,230.00
 

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pay 16.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Rome
Lake Charles
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.84
€5.04
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.01
€1.74
$4.42
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.18
€6.19
$8.50
 

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pay 15.6% less for clothing

 
Rome
Lake Charles
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$81.76
€70.50
$47.50
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.76
€32.57
$43.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$88.68
€76.47
$71.00
 

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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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