Lake Charles, LA vs Shreveport, LA

Shreveport, LA spends 38% more per resident than Lake Charles, LA: $17,313 against $12,552. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.

Lake Charles, LA edges Shreveport, LA on the Fiscal Health Score by 6 points — 73/100 (grade B) to 67/100 (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 $1,271 for Shreveport, 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 Shreveport, LA at $1,799.

They also fund themselves differently: charges and fees is the largest single revenue source in Lake Charles, LA at 27% of total revenue, whereas Shreveport, LA relies most on other revenue at 8%.