Lake Charles, Louisiana demographics

Lake Charles, LA demographics: median age 36.6; 29.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Lake Charles city, Louisiana · Incorporated city · GEOID 2241155. The survey estimates a population of 81,143 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Lake Charles is 36.6 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.3 years. There are 32,077 households (±984). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	36.6 ±1.3	38.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 81,143
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Under 18	17,749 ±1,368	21.9% ±1.7 pp	23.5%	22.0%
18–34	21,379 ±1,380	26.3% ±1.7 pp	22.4%	22.8%
35–64	28,268 ±1,367	34.8% ±1.7 pp	37.4%	38.0%
65 and older	13,747 ±960	16.9% ±1.2 pp	16.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 81,143
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Male	40,062 ±1,021	49.4% ±1.3 pp	48.9%	49.5%
Female	41,081 ±1,027	50.6% ±1.3 pp	51.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 81,143
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
White alone	37,388 ±1,807	46.1% ±2.2 pp	56.9%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	34,425 ±2,047	42.4% ±2.5 pp	30.7%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	281 ±201 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.9%
Asian alone	2,221 ±347	2.7% ±0.4 pp	1.7%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	76 ±117 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	1,469 ±634	1.8% ±0.8 pp	2.5%	7.1%
Two or more races	5,283 ±977	6.5% ±1.2 pp	7.4%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 81,143
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	76,504 ±769	94.3% ±0.9 pp	92.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	4,639 ±761	5.7% ±0.9 pp	7.2%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 32,077
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Married-couple family	12,537 ±954	39.1% ±2.7 pp	41.8%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,440 ±374	4.5% ±1.2 pp	5.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	4,657 ±527	14.5% ±1.6 pp	15.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	10,475 ±951	32.7% ±2.8 pp	31.6%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	2,968 ±506	9.3% ±1.6 pp	5.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 32,077
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Households with people under 18	8,393 ±636	26.2% ±1.8 pp	30.3%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	23,684 ±1,078	73.8% ±2.5 pp	69.7%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 32,077
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	10,475 ±951	32.7% ±2.8 pp	31.6%	28.7%
Two-person households	11,726 ±986	36.6% ±2.9 pp	32.7%	33.8%
Three-person households	4,143 ±615	12.9% ±1.9 pp	15.8%	15.3%
Four-person households	3,505 ±455	10.9% ±1.4 pp	11.6%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,745 ±428	5.4% ±1.3 pp	5.5%	5.9%
Six-person households	247 ±118	0.8% ±0.4 pp	1.8%	2.2%
Seven or more people	236 ±145 · low precision	0.7% ±0.5 pp · low precision	1.0%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 81,143
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Native	76,562 ±715	94.4% ±0.9 pp	95.1%	85.9%
Foreign born	4,581 ±707	5.6% ±0.9 pp	4.9%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 75,734
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
English only	69,313 ±1,041	91.5% ±1.0 pp	91.5%	77.7%
Spanish	3,500 ±690	4.6% ±0.9 pp	4.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	1,029 ±312	1.4% ±0.4 pp	1.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	29 ±83 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	0 ±33 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,072 ±324	1.4% ±0.4 pp	0.5%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±33 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	164 ±207 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.2%	1.1%
Vietnamese	88 ±81 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	191 ±148 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	188 ±115 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.2%	1.1%
Arabic	55 ±70 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	105 ±58 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 54,137
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	5,124 ±657	9.5% ±1.2 pp	12.7%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	15,845 ±1,201	29.3% ±2.1 pp	32.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	12,482 ±1,127	23.1% ±2.0 pp	20.4%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	4,916 ±746	9.1% ±1.4 pp	7.3%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	9,850 ±852	18.2% ±1.5 pp	17.0%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	5,920 ±798	10.9% ±1.5 pp	10.1%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 80,363
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Louisiana	U.S.
Same house	67,249 ±1,742	83.7% ±2.1 pp	88.6%	87.7%
Moved within same county	8,373 ±1,296	10.4% ±1.6 pp	6.2%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	2,651 ±558	3.3% ±0.7 pp	3.1%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	1,471 ±494	1.8% ±0.6 pp	1.6%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	619 ±362 · low precision	0.8% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

8.3% of Lake Charles residents (±1.2 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 7.8% in Louisiana and 8.4% nationally. 85.4% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Lake Charles	Louisiana	U.S.	Compared with Louisiana
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	8.3% ±1.2 pp	7.8%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	85.4% ±1.5 pp	86.6%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	7.7% ±1.0 pp	6.1%	6.2%	Higher

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Lake Charles . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Lake Charles housing and cost context or return to the city profile.