Race, Diversity, and Ethnicity in Lake Charles, LA

The map below shows majority race by area in Lake Charles, as self-identified on the US census. Darker shades indicate a larger racial majority in that neighborhood. This page also contains data and maps on Lake Charles racial diversity and diversity scores. Click here to scroll to diversity data.

Lake Charles, LA map of race and ethnicity
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White
Hispanic
Black
Asian
Multiple/Other
WhiteHispanicBlackAsianMultiple/Other
Majority race by area

The majority race in Lake Charles overall is white, making up 52.4% of residents. The next most-common racial group is black at 34.3%. There are more white people in the northwest areas of the city. People who identify as black are most likely to be living in the east places. The data below shows how many people identify themselves as each of the following races, which most Americans base on their family's national origin:

Race in Lake Charles

 
Self-Identified Race
Lake Charles, LA Population
White
52.4%
Hispanic
6.0%
Black
34.3%
Asian
1.9%
Native American
0.2%
Other
5.1%
   

Diversity and Diversity Scores for Lake Charles, LA

The map below shows diversity in Lake Charles. Areas in green are more diverse, while areas in red are much less diverse. Diversity, in this case, means a mixture of people with different race and ethnicity living close to one another. For example, all-black and all-white areas in the city would both be considered lacking diversity.

Lake Charles, LA map of race and ethnicity
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Lake Charles Diversity Score

60.0

More diverse than 94% of US cities

Lake Charles has a diversity score of 60.0: the chance, in percent, that two residents picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups, from ACS race counts. A place where everyone shares one group scores 0, and an even mix of the six groups in the chart above scores the maximum, 83.3. Lake Charles is much more diverse than other US cities, more diverse than 94% of them. Within Lake Charles's proper boundaries, the most diverse area is south Lake Charles, and the least diverse areas are in northwest Lake Charles.

Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2020-2024 5-year estimates (race and Hispanic origin); proprietary data mapping and analysis. Special thanks to the University of Virginia.