Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lake Charles vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Lake Charles is 9.7% cheaper than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.7% less in Lake Charles
- Groceries
-
pay 0.8% less in Lake Charles
- Transportation
-
pay 3.7% less in Lake Charles
- Housing
-
pay 15.7% less in Lake Charles
- Childcare
-
pay 21.6% less in Lake Charles
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 15.8% less in Lake Charles
- Clothing
-
pay 8.4% less in Lake Charles
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, transportation, and restaurants are lower in Lake Charles.
Lake Charles vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lake Charles instead of United States, you would:
pay 1.7% less for restaurants
|
United States
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$26.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$1.65
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.10
|
|
United States vs. Lake Charles - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.8% less for groceries
|
United States
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$4.10
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$7.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$4.54
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$4.97
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.99
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.59
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$0.89
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.46
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$1.91
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$0.99
|
|
United States vs. Lake Charles - Cost of groceries
pay 3.7% less for transportation
|
United States
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$2.98
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$36,884.90
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$15.43
|
|
United States vs. Lake Charles - Cost of transportation
pay 15.7% less for housing
|
United States
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$60.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$1,050.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$1,000.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$174.91
|
|
United States vs. Lake Charles - Cost of housing
pay 21.6% less for childcare
|
United States
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$1,563.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$10,230.00
|
|
United States vs. Lake Charles - Cost of childcare
pay 15.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$4.42
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$8.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$32.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$11.50
|
|
United States vs. Lake Charles - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.4% less for clothing
|
United States
|
Lake Charles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$47.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$43.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$71.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$100.00
|
|
United States 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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