Lake Charles migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 7,195 people moved into the Lake Charles metro and 7,176 moved out, a net of +19. Yellow arcs are people arriving, blue arcs are people leaving. Hover a dot to see the corridor, or click through to compare.
The map couldn’t load. The numbers below still tell the story.
† IRS methodology change in this year’s files (see methodology)
What the flows say
- Biggest published corridors: Rest of Louisiana leads both directions, with 1,358 people in and 1,036 out in 2022–23. The listed corridors cover about 52–57% of all flows; the totals count everyone.
- Trend: net flow has reversed from loss to gain over the last three years, from −6,411 in 2020–21 to +19 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
244,655
▲ 0.5% year over year · growing
Peak population · 2020
254,332
3.8% below the 2020 peak
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: domestic migration added more people than anything else: +519 in 2025, ahead of births minus deaths (+312) and international migration (+486).
- Peak population: the high-water mark was 254,332 in 2020. The 2025 estimate of 244,655 is 3.8% below that.
Net income flow · 2022–23
−$34M
▼ $182M arrived · $217M left
Avg household income · movers
$48k in · $56k out
leavers out-earn arrivals by 17%
Lake Charles wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the Lake Charles metro in 2022–23 reported $182M in income (AGI). Households leaving took $217M with them, a net loss of $34M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $48k of income, vs $56k for leavers. Leavers out-earn arrivals by 17%.
About the data
Corridors are IRS county-to-county migration flows added up into metro areas (2023 Census metro definitions; exemptions ≈ people). "Rest of" entries cover a state's counties outside any featured metro. The IRS hides corridors with fewer than 20 returns, so the lists here cover about 57% of inbound and 52% of outbound movers in 2022–23. The in, out, and net totals count everyone. Income figures are the total income (AGI) movers reported, from the complete county totals. Dollars are not adjusted for inflation, and household averages divide by the number of returns. Population figures are Census Bureau estimates; the peak covers records since 2000. Years marked † had a change in how the IRS built the files. Full details on the methodology page.
Download this data (CSV), free to use with attribution.
Every mover in Lake Charles is a future client
Shilo's AI listens to your calls, grades them, and shows you where deals slip away, so your next call is sharper.
