Population
Lake Charles
81,679
Opelika
31,944
Median Income
Lake Charles
$56,864
Opelika
$58,763
Home Value
Lake Charles
$204,000
Opelika
$213,700
Rent
Lake Charles
$1,090
Opelika
$947
Crime Rate
Lake Charles
6.13
Opelika
5.60
Cost of Living
Lake Charles
96.4
Opelika
95.7
Avg Temp
Lake Charles
N/A
Opelika
N/A
Unemployment
Lake Charles
5.5%
Opelika
5.1%
How Similar Are Lake Charles & Opelika?
Opelika is Lake Charles's #3 most similar city
7 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Lake Charles
81,679
Opelika
31,944
Lake Charles (81,679) is about 2.6x larger than Opelika (31,944).
Violent Crime
Lake Charles
6.13
Opelika
5.60
Both cities have similar violent crime — just a 9% difference.
Property Crime
Lake Charles
24.70
Opelika
26.24
Both cities have similar property crime — just a 6% difference.
Political Leaning
Lake Charles
69.0%
Opelika
63.3%
Both cities lean Republican with similar vote shares — 8% difference.
Unemployment
Lake Charles
5.5%
Opelika
5.1%
Both cities have similar unemployment — just a 7% difference.
Median Income
Lake Charles
$56,864
Opelika
$58,763
Both cities have similar median income — just a 3% difference.
Home Values
Lake Charles
$204,000
Opelika
$213,700
Both cities have similar home values — just a 5% difference.
Education
Lake Charles
19.6%
Opelika
24.0%
Opelika has a 18% higher education than Lake Charles.
Demographics
Lake Charles
47.4%
Opelika
55.4%
Opelika has a 15% higher demographics than Lake Charles.
Cost of Living
Lake Charles
96.4
Opelika
95.7
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 1% difference.
7 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Lake Charles and Opelika are remarkably similar cities.
At a Glance
0
Lake Charles
0
Opelika
Opelika leads in 6 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Opelika leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDLake Charles has a fair market rent (1br) of $928 vs $1,077 in Opelika (14% lower). Opelika scores 100.7 on the housing index (100 = national avg) vs 105.9 in Lake Charles. Lake Charles scores 86.9 on the transportation index (100 = national avg) vs 89.7 in Opelika.
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 — Opelika leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSOpelika has a vacancy rate of 8.8% compared to 20.7% in Lake Charles. Lake Charles has a median property tax of $692 vs $1,093 in Opelika (37% lower). Opelika has a median rent of $947 vs $1,090 in Lake Charles (15% lower).
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Opelika leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSLake Charles: 39,030 vs Opelika: 15,700 for labor force. Opelika has a poverty rate of 15.0% compared to 23.2% in Lake Charles. Opelika has a work from home of 5.9% 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 — Opelika leads
Source: FBI UCROpelika has a burglary rate (per 1k) of 2.06 compared to 6.13 in Lake Charles. Opelika has a murder rate (per 1k) of 0.09 compared to 0.17 in Lake Charles. Opelika has a property crime clearance of 19.1% compared to 9.3% 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 — Opelika leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauOpelika has a bachelor's degree or higher of 24.0% compared to 19.6% in Lake Charles. Opelika has a high school diploma or higher of 41.5% 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 2.6x the size of Opelika (31,944). Lake Charles skews younger with a median age of 36.2 vs 40.2.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Lake Charles
Opelika
Healthcare
Source: CMS Hospital CompareLake Charles: 4.0 vs Opelika: 2.0 for avg cms rating (out of 5). Opelika: 5 vs Lake Charles: 3 for with emergency services.
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — Opelika leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSOpelika has a public transit of 1.4% compared to 0.1% in Lake Charles. Lake Charles has a bicycle of 0.3% compared to 0.2% in Opelika. Opelika has a work from home of 5.9% 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.