Lake Charles, Louisiana
City
Top to bottom, L-R: Downtown Lake Charles, L'Auberge du Lac Casino, McNeese State University, John McNeese statue, Israel LaFleur Bridge, Lake Charles City Court, Henderson Bayou
Flag Seal Logo of Lake Charles
Nickname:  The Lake Area
Location of Lake Charles in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana
Lake Charles Location in Louisiana Show map of Louisiana Lake Charles Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 30°12′53″N 93°12′31″W / 30.21472°N 93.20861°W / 30.21472; -93.20861[1]
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Calcasieu
Founded	March 7, 1861; 163 years ago (1861-03-07) as Charleston
Renamed	March 16, 1867; 157 years ago (1867-03-16) as Lake Charles
Founded by	Charles Sallier
Named for	Charles Sallier
Government
• Mayor	Nicholas E. "Nic" Hunter (R)
• City Council[2]	Members list Dist A: Marshall Simien Dist B: Luvertha W. August Dist C: Rodney Geyen Dist D: John Ieyoub Dist E: Stuart Weatherford Dist F: Dana Carl Jackson Dist G: Mark Eckard
Area [3]
• City	48.60 sq mi (125.87 km2)
• Land	45.73 sq mi (118.44 km2)
• Water	2.87 sq mi (7.43 km2)
Elevation	15 ft (5 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	84,872
• Estimate  (2022)	83,444[4]
• Density	1,856.0/sq mi (716.59/km2)
• Urban	auto
• Metro	254,652
Demonym	Lake Charlesian
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CST)
ZIP Codes	70601, 70602, 70605, 70606, 70607, 70609, 70615, 70616, 70629
Area Code	337
FIPS code	22-41155
Website	www.cityoflakecharles.com

Lake Charles (French: Lac Charles) is the fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, 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 the state. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Lake Charles's population was 84,872.^[5]

The city and metropolitan area of Lake Charles is considered a regionally 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, Louisiana.^[6]

Lake Charles was founded by merchant and tradesman Marco Eliche (or Marco de Élitxe) as an outpost. He was a Sephardic Jewish trader of either Basque-Spanish or Venetian-Italian origins. He had arrived in Louisiana after hitchhiking and was invited onto a Spanish vessel due to his determination and loyalty to volunteer and work freely for the Spanish Empire. Long before incorporation and even before the Louisiana Purchase, other names for Lake Charles were Porte du Lafitte (Port of Jean Lafitte) or Rivière Lafitte (River Lafitte/Lafitte's River), among many other names now lost. Eliche had also founded other outposts and towns in Louisiana prior, most notably Marksville, which is named after him. There are also urban tales he had planned to name the settlement Nouveau Cadix (New Cádiz)", after the city in Spain, but this is uncertain.^{[citation needed]}

The town was first incorporated in 1857 as Charleston, after an early settler, Charles Sallier. Ten years later, on March 16, 1867, Charleston was reincorporated as the City of Lake Charles.^[7] The Great Fire of April 1910 devastated much of the city.^[8]

Lake Charles soon rebuilt, grew and expanded in the twentieth century. The Charleston Hotel was completed in 1929, during the administration of Mayor Henry J. Geary.^[9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11][12] Lake Charles after the hurricane 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,^[13] and an EF1 tornado caused minor damage to downtown Lake Charles on May 13, 2024.^[14]

Geography

Lake Charles, located on a level plain about 30 miles (48 km) from the Gulf of Mexico, has an elevation of approximately 13 feet (4.0 m) above sea level,^[15] 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 trees 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 miles was to 2023 census records Lake Charles being 61.35 sq miles in total size. According to the United States Census Bureau,^[16] the city has a total area of 44.8 square miles (116.0 km²), of which 42.0 square miles (108.9 km²) is land and 2.7 square miles (7.1 km²), or 6.12%, is water.^[17]

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.^[18] Average annual precipitation is also high among U.S. cities, at 57.49 inches (1,460 mm) per year.