Population
Lake Charles
81,679
Columbus
204,383
Median Income
Lake Charles
$56,864
Columbus
$56,622
Home Value
Lake Charles
$204,000
Columbus
$182,300
Rent
Lake Charles
$1,090
Columbus
$1,072
Crime Rate
Lake Charles
6.13
Columbus
6.08
Cost of Living
Lake Charles
96.4
Columbus
96.1
Avg Temp
Lake Charles
N/A
Columbus
N/A
Unemployment
Lake Charles
5.5%
Columbus
6.5%
How Similar Are Lake Charles & Columbus?
Columbus is Lake Charles's #25 most similar city
5 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Lake Charles
81,679
Columbus
204,383
Columbus (204,383) is about 2.5x larger than Lake Charles (81,679).
Violent Crime
Lake Charles
6.13
Columbus
6.08
Both cities have similar violent crime — just a 1% difference.
Property Crime
Lake Charles
24.70
Columbus
22.36
Both cities have similar property crime — just a 9% difference.
Political Leaning
Lake Charles
69.0%
Columbus
38.0%
Lake Charles leans Republican while Columbus leans Democratic.
Unemployment
Lake Charles
5.5%
Columbus
6.5%
Columbus has a 15% higher unemployment than Lake Charles.
Median Income
Lake Charles
$56,864
Columbus
$56,622
Both cities have similar median income — just a 0% difference.
Home Values
Lake Charles
$204,000
Columbus
$182,300
Lake Charles has a 11% higher home values than Columbus.
Education
Lake Charles
19.6%
Columbus
19.6%
Both cities have similar education — just a 0% difference.
Demographics
Lake Charles
47.4%
Columbus
39.3%
Lake Charles has a 17% higher demographics than Columbus.
Cost of Living
Lake Charles
96.4
Columbus
96.1
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 0% difference.
5 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Lake Charles and Columbus share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Lake Charles
0
Columbus
Lake Charles leads in 3 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability
Source: City Stats Index / HUDColumbus has a fair market rent (2br) of $1,088 vs $1,217 in Lake Charles (12% lower). Lake Charles has a fair market rent (1br) of $928 vs $939 in Columbus.
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 ACSColumbus has a vacancy rate of 11.7% compared to 20.7% in Lake Charles. Lake Charles has a median property tax of $692 vs $1,526 in Columbus (55% lower). Lake Charles has a owner-occupied of 61.1% compared to 50.2% in Columbus.
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Lake Charles leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSColumbus: 96,126 vs Lake Charles: 39,030 for labor force. Columbus has a work from home of 9.3% compared to 4.8% in Lake Charles. Columbus has a poverty rate of 18.8% compared to 23.2% 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 — Columbus leads
Source: FBI UCRColumbus has a burglary rate (per 1k) of 3.54 compared to 6.13 in Lake Charles. Columbus has a property crime clearance of 21.2% compared to 9.3% in Lake Charles. Columbus has a murder rate (per 1k) of 0.13 compared to 0.17 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 — Lake Charles leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauLake Charles has a high school diploma or higher of 39.7% compared to 37.3% in Columbus.
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 ACSColumbus has a population of 204,383, about 2.5x the size of Lake Charles (81,679). Columbus skews younger with a median age of 35.1 vs 36.2.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Lake Charles
Columbus
Healthcare
Source: CMS Hospital CompareLake Charles: 4.0 vs Columbus: 3.0 for avg cms rating (out of 5). Columbus: 4 vs Lake Charles: 3 for with emergency services.
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — Columbus leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSColumbus has a public transit of 0.8% compared to 0.1% in Lake Charles. Columbus has a work from home of 9.3% compared to 4.8% in Lake Charles. Columbus has a bicycle of 0.3% compared to 0.3% 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.