Lake Charles, LA vs New Orleans, LA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
New Orleans spends 61.9% more per capita than Lake Charles ($20,432/person difference). Lake Charles, LA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 73/100).
Fiscal Health Score
B
73/100
Budget Balance32
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency99
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
C
52/100
Budget Balance70
Debt Burden0
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency29
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
Key Metrics
Metric
Lake Charles
New Orleans
Total Spending
$1.0B
$12.5B
Spending / Capita
$12,552
$32,984
Total Revenue
$533.9M
$12.0B
Revenue / Capita
$6,477
$31,427
Total Debt
$322K
$870.3M
Debt / Capita
$4
$2,288
Population
82,430
380,408
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0
Per Capita Spending by Department
Fire Protection
Lake Charles$240
New Orleans$1,044
Highways & Roads
Lake Charles$204
New Orleans$271
Parks & Recreation
Lake Charles$737
New Orleans$966
Education
Lake Charles$0
New Orleans$951
Health
Lake Charles$0
New Orleans$507
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
Lake CharlesNew Orleans
| Property Tax | $0 | $62 |
| Sales Tax | $38 | $327 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $993 |
| Intergovernmental | $10 | $3,013 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,751 | $3,241 |
| Other | $1,431 | $5,501 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
Lake CharlesNew Orleans
| Fire Protection | $240 | $1,044 |
| Highways & Roads | $204 | $271 |
| Education | $0 | $951 |
| Public Welfare | $543 | $1,197 |
| Health | $0 | $507 |
| Hospitals | $1,466 | $5,002 |
| Parks & Recreation | $737 | $966 |
| Housing | $2,714 | $4,479 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $161 |
| Utilities | $1,918 | $4,300 |
| Interest on Debt | $435 | $0 |
| General Admin | $0 | $1,865 |
| Other | $4,296 | $12,243 |
B
Lake Charles, LA
Fiscal Health Score: 73/100
Good fiscal health
C
New Orleans, LA
Fiscal Health Score: 52/100
Average fiscal health