Lake Charles, LA vs Bossier City, LA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Bossier City, LA spends 17% more per resident than Lake Charles, LA: $14,635 against $12,552. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Lake Charles, LA edges Bossier City, LA on the Fiscal Health Score by 5 points — 73/100 (grade B) to 68/100 (grade B). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
On debt, Lake Charles, LA carries the lighter load at $4 per resident versus $1,280 for Bossier City, LA. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Lake Charles, LA at $737 per resident and in Bossier City, LA at $1,616.
They also fund themselves differently: charges and fees is the largest single revenue source in Lake Charles, LA at 27% of total revenue, whereas Bossier City, LA relies most on other revenue at 6%.
Summary
Bossier City spends 14.2% more per capita than Lake Charles ($2,083/person difference). Lake Charles, LA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 73/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $38 | $60 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $1,039 |
| Intergovernmental | $10 | $226 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,751 | $2,561 |
| Other | $1,431 | $4,072 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $240 | $346 |
| Highways & Roads | $204 | $283 |
| Education | $0 | $64 |
| Public Welfare | $543 | $372 |
| Hospitals | $1,466 | $171 |
| Parks & Recreation | $737 | $1,616 |
| Housing | $2,714 | $3,326 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $231 |
| Utilities | $1,918 | $2,287 |
| Interest on Debt | $435 | $0 |
| Other | $4,296 | $5,940 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.