2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Lake Charles, LA vs Columbia, MO

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Highlights
- Household income in Columbia, is 15% more than it is in Lake Charles and is 20% below the National Average.
- Lake Charles unemployment rate is 8.7%.
- Columbia unemployment rate is 3.0%.
 Lake Charles, LAColumbia, MOUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock3.0%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.3%1.6%
 Future Job Growth54.2%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes10.2%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.4%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$31,590  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$57,463$69,021
 Family Median Income$67,321  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Lake Charles, LAColumbia, MOUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock12.8%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K5.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock10.2%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K8.8%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.1%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.5%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K10.2%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock13.2%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K3.8%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock7.5%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Lake Charles, LAColumbia, MOUnited States
 Management, business, finance12.1%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.9%6.5%
 Community, social services2.8%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.0%1.2%
 Education, library7.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.8%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology7.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.5%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.2%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock8.2%5.4%
 Building maintenance6.2%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.9%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support22.2%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.3%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair8.7%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock7.5%13.1%
Reviews for Lake Charles    34 Reviews

Over 2 years ago

I’ve lived in the city for years and it’s great, you should really check it  More

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Over 4 years ago

Lake Charles, Louisiana is one of the absolute creepiest cities in the USA. The people feel dead inside. They also seem to secretly hate each other. It is also an  More

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Beware reader, the city of Lake Charles is an absolute sh*thole. If you are traveling through I-10 you might want to skip this place. This place is the very worst of the  More

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Reviews for Columbia    41 Reviews

If you are an active person and love to be outdoors and go to college sporting events, Columbia is a great place to live! I run and bike and go to Mizzou events a lot. I  More

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Over 4 years ago

I've live in CoMo for 20 yrs. NOT sure about this state of the art water park??!! There are great parks but nothing else for families. NO zoo, museum, and definitely no  More

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I lived there for a year and hated every minute. Columbia reminded me of the San Francisco of the Midwest. It is overrun with homeless people. Law enforcement is  More

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