Sulphur, Louisiana

Area Profile

20,775 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Sulphur, in Calcasieu Parish.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 39% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity2,274th of 4,199 cities measured54
SchoolsTop 6% of 4,162 cities measured86
Growth3,562nd of 4,224 cities measured31
Housing affordabilityTop 5% of 4,218 cities measured85
ClimateTop 26% of 4,225 cities measured76
Physical resilience3,945th of 4,226 cities measured11
AccessTop 33% of 4,226 cities measured96
Economic stability3,775th of 4,226 cities measured31
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.4% and median household income $61,760, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Calcasieu Parish, LA, which contains Sulphur, rather than for Sulphur alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 78% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 6% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 34 units authorized over the past twelve months, 28% below the prior year.

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

Population
20,775
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$61,760
Bottom 42% nationally
Density
1,849/sq mi
11.2 sq mi of land
Median age
38.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Louisiana
Nearest major airport
CWF
13 mi · Chennault Intl
Median home value
$182,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Calcasieu Parish, LA, which contains Sulphur, is 4.4% — higher than in all but 47% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Calcasieu Parish, LA, which contains Sulphur, grew 0.4% over the past year, to 82,659 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsCalcasieu Parish, LA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$49,3877th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftCalcasieu Parish, LA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$57,41020th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,2002024 ACS 5-Year$61,760Bottom 42%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,3342024 ACS 5-Year$29,939Bottom 36%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year15.6%Bottom 33%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year19.0 minTop 14%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.9%Bottom 40%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year82.1%67th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentCalcasieu Parish, LA’s figureJuly 202682,659Top 45%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Calcasieu Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026+1.8%Top 22%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Calcasieu Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026+0.4%Top 29%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceCalcasieu Parish, LA’s figureJuly 202686,43055th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year75.6%Bottom 41%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageLake Charles, LA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$56,630Bottom 7%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageLake Charles, LA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$45,700Bottom 8%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%83rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Calcasieu Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026−0.3%Top 38%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateCalcasieu Parish, LA’s figureJuly 20264.4%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.5%29th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202462k51k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $61,760 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Lake Charles, LA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Cashiers2,840$27,480
Retail Salespersons2,620$28,780
Registered Nurses2,460$90,690
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,350$22,500
General and Operations Managers2,140$101,370
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,140$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 publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Calcasieu Parish, LA, which contains this city.

78% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 83% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.5 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
78.3%
Top 15% in Louisiana
Reading proficiency
83.3%
Top 15% in Louisiana
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Sulphur High SchoolCalcasieu Parish1,91114.180%85%
W. W. Lewis Middle SchoolCalcasieu Parish75712.478%83%
Maplewood ElementaryCalcasieu Parish64012.871%81%
E. K. Key Elementary SchoolCalcasieu Parish54611.979%80%
Frasch Elementary SchoolCalcasieu Parish52212.190%91%
W. T. Henning Elementary SchoolCalcasieu Parish36911.577%77%
LeBlanc Middle SchoolCalcasieu Parish36611.462%78%
Maplewood Middle SchoolCalcasieu Parish3199.772%83%
Vincent Settlement Elementary SchoolCalcasieu Parish28412.398%98%
Richard W. Vincent Elementary SchoolCalcasieu Parish28311.872%72%
Jake Drost School for Exceptional ChildrenCalcasieu Parish196.3——

50.8% 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.

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 $807 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.44% 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 22% above the $994 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 79% of the median household income here of $61,760.

The typical renter household here spends 25% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $994 a month.

A median home at $182,900 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $74,008, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
87.1

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.

Rent as a share of income
24.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,217
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$994
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$182,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Sulphur’s median household income of $61,760, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Lake Charles, LA Metro Area’s figure202387.1Top 2%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Lake Charles, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+7.7%98th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Lake Charles, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+17.6%4th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Lake Charles, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+33.6%1st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year2.5Top 50%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year74.6%47th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5982024 ACS 5-Year10,19594th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$928Top 16%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,459Top 16%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,217Top 22%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1422024 ACS 5-Year$994Bottom 48%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,0092024 ACS 5-Year$182,90049th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1562024 ACS 5-Year$80717th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$10,7002024 ACS 5-Year$74,008Bottom 43%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year0.44%7th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year24.5%Top 31%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1382024 ACS 5-Year10990th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%62nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year18.2%85th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3832024 ACS 5-Year1,96198th percentileof 32,3302024 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.

Development Momentum

31/ 100
Ranks 3,562 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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.

Population has fallen 6% since 2020, to 20,572 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 20,572 residents in 2024, up 0.5% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before. That recent rise has not yet made up the 6% decline since 2020.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 34 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Calcasieu Parish, which contains Sulphur, gained about 0.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $49,387, below the $57,410 of households that moved out.

At 1.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
34
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.6
Bottom 36% nationally
Year over year
−28%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202422k20k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
49%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$49,387
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$57,410
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Beauregard Parish, LA 599 people · 8.6% of arrivals
  2. Jefferson Davis Parish, LA 537 people · 7.7% of arrivals
  3. Harris County, TX 450 people · 6.4% of arrivals
  4. Lafayette Parish, LA 341 people · 4.9% of arrivals
  5. Allen Parish, LA 240 people · 3.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Beauregard Parish, LA 593 people · 8.9% of departures
  2. Harris County, TX 586 people · 8.8% of departures
  3. Jefferson Davis Parish, LA 448 people · 6.8% of departures
  4. Lafayette Parish, LA 237 people · 3.6% of departures
  5. 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.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420258237
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−50%).

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.

Air quality measures a median index of 49, in the Good band, and about 4 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LAKE CHARLES, 11.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year642024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals59.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year42024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year492024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals31°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
49
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
64
90th percentile index
Days above 100
4
unhealthy for sensitive groups

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

11 / 100
Physical resilience

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.

HurricaneHigh
TornadoElevated
Inland floodingElevated
HailModerate
DroughtModerate
Coastal floodingModerate

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. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
311
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,712
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Sulphur's police department reported 311 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,712.

Calcasieu Parish records 7.9 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 21.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 28.0 per 100,000 residents in Calcasieu Parish.

Homicide
7.9
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
21.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
28.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
16.2
per 100,000 residents

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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Sulphur’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 Sulphur (Calcasieu Parish) rather than Sulphur itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

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 13 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year84.4%Bottom 29%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle13 miTop 35%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year12.3%Bottom 29%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Chennault IntlCWF13 mi10,702 ft
Lafayette Rgnl/Paul Fournet FldLFT82 mi8,000 ft
Acadiana RgnlARA89 mi8,002 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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Area Score
56
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Other cities in Lake Charles, LA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Lake CharlesCalcasieu Parish81,14349Lake Charles vs Sulphur
Moss BluffCalcasieu Parish12,48263Moss Bluff vs Sulphur

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Sulphur side by side with a similar place.

Sulphur vs D'IbervilleSulphur vs Sunland Park

Moving to Sulphur from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.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
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA 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.

ZIP codes in Sulphur

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Sulphur with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Sulphur closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
7066327,799$64,707$180,600—