70601 — Lake Charles, Louisiana
Area Profile
Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 70601. Its median home value runs 24% below Lake Charles as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 15 sourcesUnemployment is 4.6% and median household income $49,992, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Lake Charles, LA, which contains 70601, rather than for 70601 alone.
In the public schools here, 48% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 11.5 students for every teacher.
Residential permitting has slowed: 245 units authorized over the past twelve months, 49% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Lake Charles, LA, which contains 70601, rather than for 70601 alone.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Lake Charles, LA, which contains 70601, is 4.6% — higher than in all but 41% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.
Employment across Lake Charles, LA, which contains 70601, grew 0.4% over the past year, to 33,216 employed residents.
Median household income of $49,992 is lower than in 85% of measured US ZIP areas.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsCalcasieu Parish, LA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $49,387 | 9th percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftCalcasieu Parish, LA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $57,410 | 26th percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$6,0822024 ACS 5-Year | $49,992 | Bottom 15%of 31,049 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$5,0262024 ACS 5-Year | $33,792 | Bottom 40%of 32,822 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 28.6% | Bottom 7%of 32,846 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 17.9 min | Top 8%of 32,887 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 25.2% | Top 45%of 33,193 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 78.2% | 59th percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentLake Charles, LA’s figureJuly 2026 | 33,216 | Bottom 36%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Lake Charles, LA’s figureJuly 2026 | +2.1% | Top 22%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Lake Charles, LA’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.4% | Top 29%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceLake Charles, LA’s figureJuly 2026 | 34,825 | 36th percentileof 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 70.5% | Bottom 25%of 32,883 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageLake Charles, LA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $56,630 | Bottom 11%of 2,760 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageLake Charles, LA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $45,700 | Bottom 12%of 2,760 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 1st percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Lake Charles, LA’s figureJuly 2026 | −0.2% | Top 45%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateLake Charles, LA’s figureJuly 2026 | 4.6% | Bottom 41%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.0% | 20th percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Lake Charles, LA
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Cashiers | 2,840 | $27,480 |
| Retail Salespersons | 2,620 | $28,780 |
| Registered Nurses | 2,460 | $90,690 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 2,350 | $22,500 |
| General and Operations Managers | 2,140 | $101,370 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 2,140 | $23,000 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Lake Charles, LA, the city containing this ZIP code.
48% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 58% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 11.5 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington/Marion Magnet High School | Calcasieu Parish | 597 | 12.7 | 47% | 62% |
| Combre-Fondel Elementary School | Calcasieu Parish | 426 | 14.2 | 37% | 42% |
| Oak Park Middle School | Calcasieu Parish | 388 | 9.2 | 27% | 58% |
| T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School | Calcasieu Parish | 300 | 20.0 | 98% | 98% |
| Ray D. Molo Middle Magnet School | Calcasieu Parish | 265 | 9.1 | 30% | 51% |
| Oak Park Elementary School | Calcasieu Parish | 259 | 10.4 | 42% | 52% |
| Pearl Watson Elementary School | Calcasieu Parish | 219 | 11.5 | 57% | 52% |
| Barbe Elementary School | Calcasieu Parish | 179 | 11.9 | 52% | 52% |
| T. H. Watkins Elementary School | Calcasieu Parish | 165 | 10.3 | 67% | 62% |
| John J. Johnson II Elementary School | Calcasieu Parish | 131 | 10.9 | — | — |
| Ralph F. Wilson Elementary School | Calcasieu Parish | 92 | 7.7 | 32% | 46% |
80.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Louisiana’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 13% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 87.1, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Lake Charles, LA Metro Area is up 18% over five years, and up 7.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $343 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.21% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,217, some 31% above the $930 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,217 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $48,700 a year, about 97% of the median household income here of $49,992.
The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $930 a month.
A median home at $162,200 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $65,719, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
Prices here run about 13% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Lake Charles, LA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against 70601’s median household income of $49,992, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Lake Charles, LA Metro Area’s figure2023 | 87.1 | Top 3%of 2,737 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Lake Charles, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +7.7% | 97th percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Lake Charles, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +17.6% | 2nd percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Lake Charles, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +33.6% | 1st percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year | 2.5 | Top 41%of 29,275 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 58.9% | 15th percentileof 32,750 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±6652024 ACS 5-Year | 16,565 | 94th percentileof 33,460 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $928 | Top 21%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,459 | Top 20%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,217 | Top 29%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$862024 ACS 5-Year | $930 | Top 41%of 26,396 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$10,0062024 ACS 5-Year | $162,200 | 32nd percentileof 30,812 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$922024 ACS 5-Year | $343 | 1st percentileof 28,935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$8,7812024 ACS 5-Year | $65,719 | Bottom 24%of 29,802 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.21% | 1st percentileof 24,099 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 32.1% | Bottom 29%of 26,247 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±1922024 ACS 5-Year | 282 | 89th percentileof 33,772 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.7% | 57th percentileof 32,961 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 22.7% | 93rd percentileof 32,788 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±5432024 ACS 5-Year | 4,048 | 99th percentileof 33,772 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 245 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Lake Charles, LA, which contains 70601, rather than for 70601 alone.
At 3.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Lake Charles, LA, which contains 70601, rather than for 70601 alone.
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Beauregard Parish, LA 599 people · 8.6% of arrivals
- Jefferson Davis Parish, LA 537 people · 7.7% of arrivals
- Harris County, TX 450 people · 6.4% of arrivals
- Lafayette Parish, LA 341 people · 4.9% of arrivals
- Allen Parish, LA 240 people · 3.4% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Beauregard Parish, LA 593 people · 8.9% of departures
- Harris County, TX 586 people · 8.8% of departures
- Jefferson Davis Parish, LA 448 people · 6.8% of departures
- Lafayette Parish, LA 237 people · 3.6% of departures
- Orange County, TX 214 people · 3.2% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Calcasieu Parish, LA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Lake Charles, LA, the city containing this ZIP code.
Weather & climate
7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 43°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 59.7 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 64 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 59.7" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 43°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 92°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 7 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 4 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 49 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 31°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and tornado, with hurricane alone responsible for 43% of it.
Low or minimal exposure: lightning, cold wave, wildfire, ice storm, heat wave, strong wind, earthquake, landslide, winter weather, volcanic activity, tsunami, avalanche.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 70601 (Calcasieu Parish) rather than 70601 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Lake Charles carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Chennault Intl at 4 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 83.1% | Bottom 25%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 4 mi | Top 6%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 4 | Bottom 40%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 15.6% | Bottom 19%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chennault Intl | CWF | 4 mi | 10,702 ft |
| Lafayette Rgnl/Paul Fournet Fld | LFT | 73 mi | 8,000 ft |
| Acadiana Rgnl | ARA | 81 mi | 8,002 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
70601 vs Lake Charles
How this ZIP area compares with Lake Charles as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.
Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.