Lake Charles is the fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on the namesake lake, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu Parish, it is a major industrial, cultural, and educational center in the southwest region of Louisiana. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Lake Charles's population was 84,872.
The city and metropolitan area of Lake Charles is considered a significant center of petrochemical refining, gambling, tourism, and education, being home to McNeese State University and Sowela Technical Community College. Because of the lakes and waterways throughout the city, metropolitan Lake Charles is often called the "Lake Area".
History
On March 7, 1861, Lake Charles was incorporated as the town of Charleston, named after an early settler, Charles Sallier. On March 16, 1867, Charleston was reincorporated as the City of Lake Charles. The Great Fire of April 1910 devastated much of the city.
Lake Charles soon rebuilt, grew and expanded in the 20th century. The Charleston Hotel was completed in 1929, during the administration of Mayor Henry J. Geary. During and after World War II, Lake Charles experienced industrial growth with the arrival of petrochemical refineries. The city grew to a high of some 75,000 people in the early 1980s, but with local economic recession, the population declined and stagnated. In 1985, the city was identified as a potential Strategic Homeport to support Navy Secretary John Lehman's desire for a 600-ship Navy.General Accounting Office, Navy Homeports: Expanded Structures Unnecessary and Costly, NSIAD-91-158, June 1991, p.8 Support ships were to be operated from the new Naval Station Lake Charles, but with the tailing-off of the Cold War, the 1988 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended it be closed. By 1991, the incomplete base was dropped from the program and shuttered.
In 2005, the city was heavily damaged by Hurricane Rita. In 2020, it was battered by two hurricanes, category 4 Hurricane Laura on August 26–27, and Hurricane Delta on October 9, 2020. Lake Charles after the hurricanes was described as if "20 tornadoes came in and wiped the city".
The southern portion of the city was damaged by an EF2 tornado on October 27, 2021, and an EF1 tornado caused minor damage to downtown Lake Charles on May 13, 2024.
Geography
Lake Charles, located on a level plain about from the Gulf of Mexico, has an elevation around above sea level, and is located on the banks of the Calcasieu River in southwestern Louisiana. It borders both Lake Charles and Prien Lake. Contraband Bayou, Henderson Bayou, and English Bayou flow through the city. Oak and pine trees dot the landscape; the lumber industry was once the main economic engine of the area. The Calcasieu Ship Channel, which allows large, ocean-going vessels to sail up from the gulf, also borders the city. The 2010 census recorded Lake Charles' total land size was 48.6 sq mi . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which , or 6.12%, is covered by water.
Climate
Lake Charles is tied with Port Arthur, Texas, and Astoria, Oregon, as the most humid city in the contiguous United States, and the second-most humid measured location behind unincorporated Quillayute, Washington. The average relative humidity in Lake Charles is 90% in the morning, and 72% in the afternoon. Average annual precipitation is also high among U.S. cities, at per year.
Hurricanes Hurricane Laura devastated the city in 2020. The National Weather Service called the storm surge "unsurvivable" with one-minute sustained wind speeds of 150 mph (240 km/h). The Lake Charles Regional Airport had a gust of 133 miles per hour (214 km/h), and several hangars were destroyed. Another gust in the city reached 137 mph (220 km/h). Many windows were blown out of Capital One Tower downtown, which was later demolished due to the severity of the damage. A communications tower collapsed onto the KPLC studio building (which had been evacuated), and part of a sky bridge was blown out. The radar at the NWS Lake Charles forecast office (whose staff evacuated, with the office's operations transferred to the Brownsville, Texas, office) was destroyed around the time of landfall, with its dome and much of its internal equipment sheared from the radar tower's base. A few weeks later, Hurricane Delta also hit Lake Charles.
Demographics
Lake Charles is the principal city of the Lake Charles metropolitan statistical area, which had a population of 240,082 as of 2023. It is the larger principal city of the Lake Charles-DeRidder combined statistical area, with a population of 276,909. The 2020 population of the five-parish region of Southwest Louisiana was 313,951. The city proper of Lake Charles at the 2020 census had a population of 84,872, with a population density of 1,890 people per square mile among 38,434 housing units. In 2010, the population was 71,993,"Census 2010 Data for the State of Louisiana" (place list), US Census Bureau, February 2011, webpage: C2010-LA . reflecting a rebound from its 1990 population of 70,580.
In 2010, the median income for a household in the city was $36,001. The per capita income for the city was $22,855. About 20.9% of the population was below the poverty line; in 2020, the median income for a household in the city was $37,894; 26.7% of the population was below the poverty line. The average commute time was 22.4 minutes.
Racial and ethnic composition +Lake Charles city, Louisiana – racial and ethnic compositionRace / ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)35,54032,79335,14349.53%45.55%41.41%Black or African American alone (NH)33,41434,12038,94346.57%47.39%45.88%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1582722890.22%0.38%0.34%Asian alone (NH)7661,1842,2301.07%1.64%2.63%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)1321820.02%0.03%0.10%Other race alone (NH)1333004600.19%0.42%0.54%Mixed-race or multiracial (NH)7261,2342,9531.01%1.71%3.48%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,0072,0694,7721.40%2.87%5.62%Total71,75771,99384,872100.00%100.00%100.00%
The 2010 census determined that the racial and ethnic makeup for the city was 47% African American, 46% White, <1% Native American, 2% , 1% from other races, and 2% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 3% of the population. In 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the racial and ethnic makeup for Lake Charles was 46.2% Black or African American, 42.5% non-Hispanic white, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.6% Asian, 2.6% some other race, 5.6% two or more races, and 5.6% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Religion In common with most of the American South, Christianity is the predominant religion in the Lake Area. According to the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020, the Roman Catholic Church is the area's largest individual Christian denomination, with 51,161 adherents in Calcasieu Parish alone. The Southern Baptist Convention was the city and area's second largest denomination, followed by non-denominational Protestant churches. Other prominent Christian denominations have included the United Methodist Church, National Baptist Convention, USA, Churches of Christ, Church of God in Christ, and the Assemblies of God USA.
Crime In 2018, the violent crime rate in the Lake Charles area was one of the highest in the United States, across communities of all sizes. Violent offenses tracked include rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. Lake Charles was then safer than 13% of cities in the United States. For every 100,000 people, 13.11 daily crimes occurred in Lake Charles.
Economy
The top employer, the Calcasieu Parish School System, employs around 5,000 workers. The second-largest employer is L'Auberge Casino Resort, which has 2,400 workers.
Industry and manufacturing Several petrochemical plants and an oil refinery are located nearby along the Calcasieu Ship Channel. Turner Industries, Westlake Chemical Corporation, and Citgo each employ over a thousand people. The Lake Charles LNG terminal, immediately southwest of Lake Charles, is one of the United States' few liquified natural gas terminals. It has facilities for LNG receipt, storage, and regasification. Other industrial companies include PPG Industries, Phillips 66, Sasol, and Grace. Local industry also includes several manufacturing companies. Chennault International Airport hosts AAR Corp, which services airplanes, and a Northrop Grumman facility. The Shaw Group has a manufacturing facility, which manufactures and exports parts for nuclear power plants.
Commerce and retail With small businesses, big-box stores, and a regional mall, Lake Charles serves as the shopping and retail hub of the five-parish area. Prien Lake Mall, which serves nearly 300,000 people, is anchored by three department stores. The Lake Charles Power Center is a shopping area that has of shopping space. The Cottage Shop District supports approximately a dozen small businesses.
Casinos
Lake Charles has Louisiana's biggest casino market. The L'Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles is a , 26-story hotel in Lake Charles. It has nearly 1000 guest rooms, a casino, golf course, spa, and meeting center. A second casino, the Golden Nugget Lake Charles, opened in 2014 next to L'Auberge du Lac. The 18-story casino resort hotel has more than 740 guest rooms, a casino, golf course, meeting space, and retail corridor, and a private beach and marina.
While Horseshoe Lake Charles is technically in one of the city's suburbs known as Westlake, Louisiana, it forms part of the city's gambling market, along with Delta Downs in Vinton, Louisiana and Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder, Louisiana.
Arts and culture
Lake Charles has a Creole and Cajun culture because of its location in Southwest Louisiana—an extension of Acadiana.
The city has its own symphony orchestra, the Lake Charles Symphony. It was founded in 1958 and hosts concerts at the Rosa Hart Theatre, which has a capacity over 2,000.
The Lake Charles Little Theatre was founded in 1927 and is the second-oldest community theater in Louisiana.
Lake Charles is home to a number of museums and art galleries. The largest, the Imperial Calcasieu Museum, features a permanent historical exhibit with artifacts and an art gallery. Its grounds are home to the Sallier oak tree, which is around 400 years old. The Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center is used as exhibition space; moving art exhibits are displayed at this public art gallery each month. It also hosts the Charlestown Farmers' Market, which provides a venue for local farmers and merchants to sell goods.
The Central School Arts and Humanities Center, located in the historical Charpentier District, is owned by the city. Charpentier is French for "carpenter", a reference to the carpenter-architects who built the mixed-style homes in the district. Central School features the Black Heritage Art Gallery, which is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail, as well as the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu, which features extravagant costumes and an interactive float. It has the largest collection of Mardi Gras memorabilia in the South. Other studios and cultural activities include the Art Associates Gallery, Studio 347 Gallery, the Lake Charles Symphony, and the Lake Charles Community Band.
McNeese State University produces the annual Banners Series of various musical and theatrical performances. Banners also hosts lectures and presentations from notable persons and academics. Local theaters include the Lake Charles Little Theatre, the Artists Civic Theatre and Studio, and the Children's Theatre.
Louisiana Pirate Festival