Population
Lake Charles
81,679
Cape Girardeau
40,047
Median Income
Lake Charles
$56,864
Cape Girardeau
$54,870
Home Value
Lake Charles
$204,000
Cape Girardeau
$186,100
Rent
Lake Charles
$1,090
Cape Girardeau
$855
Crime Rate
Lake Charles
6.13
Cape Girardeau
6.23
Cost of Living
Lake Charles
96.4
Cape Girardeau
88.3
Avg Temp
Lake Charles
N/A
Cape Girardeau
N/A
Unemployment
Lake Charles
5.5%
Cape Girardeau
3.4%
How Similar Are Lake Charles & Cape Girardeau?
Cape Girardeau is Lake Charles's #13 most similar city
6 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Lake Charles
81,679
Cape Girardeau
40,047
Lake Charles (81,679) is about 2.0x larger than Cape Girardeau (40,047).
Violent Crime
Lake Charles
6.13
Cape Girardeau
6.23
Both cities have similar violent crime — just a 2% difference.
Property Crime
Lake Charles
24.70
Cape Girardeau
24.56
Both cities have similar property crime — just a 1% difference.
Political Leaning
Lake Charles
69.0%
Cape Girardeau
72.7%
Both cities lean Republican with similar vote shares — 5% difference.
Unemployment
Lake Charles
5.5%
Cape Girardeau
3.4%
Lake Charles has a 38% higher unemployment than Cape Girardeau.
Median Income
Lake Charles
$56,864
Cape Girardeau
$54,870
Both cities have similar median income — just a 4% difference.
Home Values
Lake Charles
$204,000
Cape Girardeau
$186,100
Both cities have similar home values — just a 9% difference.
Education
Lake Charles
19.6%
Cape Girardeau
22.4%
Cape Girardeau has a 13% higher education than Lake Charles.
Demographics
Lake Charles
47.4%
Cape Girardeau
76.5%
Cape Girardeau has a 38% higher demographics than Lake Charles.
Cost of Living
Lake Charles
96.4
Cape Girardeau
88.3
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 8% difference.
6 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Lake Charles and Cape Girardeau share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Lake Charles
0
Cape Girardeau
Cape Girardeau leads in 3 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Cape Girardeau leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDCape Girardeau has a fair market rent (2br) of $992 vs $1,217 in Lake Charles (23% lower). Cape Girardeau scores 73.3 on the transportation index (100 = national avg) vs 86.9 in Lake Charles. Cape Girardeau scores 92.0 on the housing index (100 = national avg) vs 105.9 in Lake Charles.
Overall Cost Index
Housing Index
Food Index
Transportation Index
Healthcare Index
Utilities Index
Living Wage (1 Adult)
Living Wage (Family of 4)
Fair Market Rent (1BR)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)
Housing Market — Lake Charles leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSCape Girardeau has a vacancy rate of 11.1% compared to 20.7% in Lake Charles. Lake Charles has a median property tax of $692 vs $1,395 in Cape Girardeau (50% lower). Cape Girardeau has a median rent of $855 vs $1,090 in Lake Charles (27% lower).
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSLake Charles: 39,030 vs Cape Girardeau: 20,990 for labor force. Cape Girardeau has a unemployment rate of 3.4% compared to 5.5% in Lake Charles. Cape Girardeau has a work from home of 7.1% compared to 4.8% in Lake Charles.
Median Household Income
Per Capita Income
Poverty Rate
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force
Mean Commute
Work from Home
Private Sector
Government Sector
Crime & Safety — Cape Girardeau leads
Source: FBI UCRCape Girardeau has a murder rate (per 1k) of 0.07 compared to 0.17 in Lake Charles. Cape Girardeau has a burglary rate (per 1k) of 2.97 compared to 6.13 in Lake Charles. Cape Girardeau has a robbery rate (per 1k) of 0.32 compared to 0.64 in Lake Charles.
Violent Crime Rate (per 1K)
Property Crime Rate (per 1K)
Murder Rate (per 1K)
Robbery Rate (per 1K)
Assault Rate (per 1K)
Burglary Rate (per 1K)
Larceny Rate (per 1K)
Violent Crime Clearance
Property Crime Clearance
Weather & Climate
Source: NOAA / Open-MeteoAvg Annual Temperature
Avg Annual High
Avg Annual Low
Sunny Days per Year
Annual Rainfall
Annual Snowfall
Avg Humidity
Schools & Education — Cape Girardeau leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauCape Girardeau has a bachelor's degree or higher of 22.4% compared to 19.6% in Lake Charles. Cape Girardeau has a high school diploma or higher of 40.3% compared to 39.7% in Lake Charles.
Public Schools
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio
Colleges & Universities
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
High School Diploma or Higher
Demographics & Community
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSLake Charles has a population of 81,679, about 2x the size of Cape Girardeau (40,047). Cape Girardeau skews younger with a median age of 34.2 vs 36.2.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Lake Charles
Cape Girardeau
Healthcare — Lake Charles leads
Source: CMS Hospital CompareLake Charles: 4.0 vs Cape Girardeau: 2.0 for avg cms rating (out of 5).
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSLake Charles has a bicycle of 0.3% compared to 0.1% in Cape Girardeau. Cape Girardeau has a public transit of 0.2% compared to 0.1% in Lake Charles. Cape Girardeau has a work from home of 7.1% compared to 4.8% in Lake Charles.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to Lake Charles, LA
Compare Lake Charles against its closest statistical matches across demographics, income, crime, health, and more.
City Comparison
8-axis fingerprint: population, income, housing, crime, education, age, climate, and cost of living. Click legend items to toggle.