† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
3 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupLake Charles, LALouisianaUnited States
French12.0%9.6%1.6%
English7.7%7.3%9.5%
American7.0%7.4%5.3%
Irish6.3%6.6%9.4%
German6.2%6.9%12.5%
French Canadian4.4%1.6%—
Italian2.2%4.3%4.8%
Scottish1.1%1.0%1.3%
African American†21.3%29.3%9.9%
African0.3%0.8%0.5%
Mexican2.1%2.1%11.3%
Honduran0.5%1.6%0.3%
Spanish0.5%0.7%—
Cuban0.4%0.3%0.7%
Spaniard0.4%0.2%—
Puerto Rican0.3%0.4%1.8%
Salvadoran0.2%—0.7%
Venezuelan0.2%——
Pakistani0.3%——
Asian Indian0.2%0.2%1.4%
Chinese0.2%0.2%1.3%
Filipino0.2%—0.9%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Lake Charles, LA
Louisiana
United States
Median age
37.6
38
39.1
Age 18–24
8.2%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
16.5%
16.8%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Lake Charles, LA
Louisiana
United States
Median household income
$66,385
$60,756
$84,427
Poverty rate
16.8%
19.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
23.5%
27.1%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Lake Charles, LA
Louisiana
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
6.4%
8.5%
22.3%
Spanish
2.9%
4.7%
13.6%
French (incl. Cajun & Haitian)
1.9%
1.5%
0.7%
Religious landscape
Measure
Lake Charles, LA
Louisiana
United States
Catholic
25.5%
26.8%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
26.3%
25.0%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
37.9%
36.8%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Lake Charles, LA
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
+30.8%
1896
+51.1%
1900
+42.1%
1904
+48.5%
1908
+49.5%
1912
+61.4%
1916
+74.3%
1920
+41.3%
1924
+30.4%
1928
+28.1%
1932
+77.1%
1936
+71.2%
1940
+61.7%
1944
+56.6%
1948
+39.0%
1952
+14.5%
1956
−8.9%
1960
+39.6%
1964
+16.0%
1968
+9.9%
1972
−24.8%
1976
+31.5%
1980
+11.3%
1984
−6.1%
1988
+7.1%
1992
+13.5%
1996
+16.6%
2000
−7.9%
2004
−18.8%
2008
−28.2%
2012
−33.1%
2016
−37.9%
2020
−40.0%
2024
−44.3%
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
27.1%Harris26,836
71.4%Trump70,662
1.4%
R+44.3
R+4.3
R+42.8
98,921
R
29.1%Biden29,514
69.1%Trump70,160
1.8%
R+40.0
R+2.2
R+44.5
101,543
R
29.2%Clinton29,699
67.0%Trump68,222
3.8%
R+37.9
R+4.7
R+39.9
101,754
R
32.5%Obama32,251
65.6%Romney65,124
1.8%
R+33.1
R+4.9
R+37.0
99,204
R
35.0%Obama34,780
63.2%McCain62,816
1.8%
R+28.2
R+9.4
R+35.5
99,425
R
40.0%Kerry38,976
58.9%Bush57,320
1.1%
R+18.8
R+11.0
R+16.4
97,345
R
44.8%Gore40,516
52.7%Bush47,624
2.5%
R+7.9
R+24.5
R+8.4
90,365
D
52.1%Clinton47,238
35.4%Dole32,170
12.5%
D+16.6
D+3.1
D+8.1
90,752
D
48.4%Clinton42,577
34.9%Bush30,689
16.8%
D+13.5
D+6.4
D+7.9
88,038
D
53.1%Dukakis42,988
46.0%Bush37,275
0.9%
D+7.1
D+13.2
D+14.8
80,961
R
46.6%Mondale40,784
52.7%Reagan46,127
0.8%
R+6.1
R+17.4
D+12.1
87,580
D
54.2%Carter43,807
43.0%Reagan34,716
2.8%
D+11.3
R+20.3
D+21.0
80,784
D
64.6%Carter42,788
33.1%Ford21,907
2.3%
D+31.5
D+56.4
D+29.5
66,211
R
34.4%McGovern18,620
59.2%Nixon32,072
6.4%
R+24.8
R+34.8
R+1.7
54,158
O
31.3%Humphrey17,767
21.4%Nixon12,138
47.3%
Wallace +15.9
R+6.1
D+10.6
56,707
D
58.0%Johnson29,827
42.0%Goldwater21,590
0.0%
D+16.0
R+23.6
R+6.6
51,417
D
65.9%Kennedy32,081
26.3%Nixon12,816
7.8%
D+39.6
D+48.5
D+39.4
48,679
R
44.3%Stevenson15,395
53.2%Eisenhower18,477
2.4%
R+8.9
R+23.4
D+6.5
34,719
D
57.3%Stevenson20,403
42.7%Eisenhower15,233
0.0%
D+14.5
R+24.5
D+25.3
35,636
D
55.4%Truman9,533
16.4%Dewey2,820
28.2%
D+39.0
R+17.6
D+34.5
17,202
D
78.3%Roosevelt11,215
21.7%Dewey3,109
0.0%
D+56.6
R+5.1
D+49.1
14,324
D
80.8%Roosevelt10,699
19.1%Willkie2,527
0.1%
D+61.7
R+9.4
D+51.8
13,237
D
85.5%Roosevelt9,893
14.4%Landon1,661
0.1%
D+71.2
R+5.9
D+46.9
11,567
D
88.4%Roosevelt9,351
11.3%Hoover1,200
0.2%
D+77.1
D+49.0
D+59.3
10,577
D
64.0%Smith5,625
35.9%Hoover3,158
0.0%
D+28.1
R+2.3
D+45.5
8,786
D
64.9%Davis3,820
34.5%Coolidge2,032
0.6%
D+30.4
R+10.9
D+55.6
5,885
D
70.5%Cox3,354
29.2%Harding1,389
0.3%
D+41.3
R+32.9
D+67.5
4,756
D
86.7%Wilson2,617
12.4%Hughes375
0.9%
D+74.3
D+12.9
D+71.1
3,019
D
66.8%Wilson2,263
5.4%Taft184
27.8%
D+61.4
D+11.9
D+41.8
3,387
D
71.7%Bryan2,255
22.2%Taft698
6.1%
D+49.5
D+1.0
D+59.1
3,145
D
71.8%Parker1,280
23.3%Roosevelt416
4.8%
D+48.5
D+6.4
D+68.2
1,782
D
71.0%Bryan1,744
29.0%McKinley711
0.0%
D+42.1
R+9.1
D+49.6
2,455
D
75.1%Bryan2,909
24.0%McKinley928
0.9%
D+51.1
D+20.3
D+57.2
3,873
D
65.4%Cleveland1,273
34.6%Harrison673
0.0%
D+30.8
—
D+29.2
1,946
Congressional elections · 2 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2022
R
12.6%8,338
70.9%46,988
66,229
2020
R
7.3%7,164
68.2%67,236
98,562
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2024R+7.3
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+44.3
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 37 points more Democratic.
154,256 registered voters · 2024
Democratic31.6%Republican38.9%Other29.4%
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
+519 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net −12,157 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Lake Charles, LA in Lake Charles, LA: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−465
2012
−663
2013
−57
2014
+315
2015
+970
2016
+933
2017
+857
2018
−78
2019
−850
2021
−10,934
2022
−3,759
2023
+151
2024
+904
2025
+519
The Lake Charles metro's political lean tracks closely with its industrial base — energy-sector employment shapes voter priorities here, and the area has backed Republican presidential candidates by wide margins over the past two decades.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 77.1 points in 1932 and a Republican high of 44.3 points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 4.3 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 44.3 points.
A population of 244,027, a 67% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $66,385 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA and Lafayette, LA.
Akashic
Political twins — metros
The metros whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
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Lake Charles, LA, Louisiana. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/29340/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Lake Charles, LA, Louisiana voted Republican by 44.3 points (R+44.3), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 98,921 votes cast, 26,836 went Democratic and 70,662 went Republican.
When did Lake Charles, LA, Louisiana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Lake Charles, LA, Louisiana voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Lake Charles, LA, Louisiana?
Lake Charles, LA, Louisiana has a population of 244,027 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Lake Charles, LA, Louisiana?
Median household income in Lake Charles, LA, Louisiana is $66,385 — below the national median of $80,734. The Louisiana state median is $60,756.
What is the political history of Lake Charles, LA, Louisiana?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Lake Charles, LA, Louisiana from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 23 went Democratic and 10 went Republican.
