Lake Charles, LA

Across all occupations in the Lake Charles, LA metropolitan area, the median wage is $45,700 a year ($21.97 an hour) and the mean $56,630, May 2025. That median is −10% against the US median of $50,980 and 0% against Louisiana's $45,520. BLS counts 101,690 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is physicians, all other; the largest is cashiers.

All occupations: Lake Charles, LA vs Louisiana and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Lake Charles, LA area, Louisiana and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Lake Charles, LA	Hourly	$10.84	$14.64	$21.97	$33.41	$49.74	$27.23	101,690
Lake Charles, LA	Annual	$22,550	$30,440	$45,700	$69,490	$103,450	$56,630	101,690
Louisiana	Hourly	$10.92	$14.59	$21.89	$31.90	$48.13	$27.21	1,934,900
Louisiana	Annual	$22,710	$30,350	$45,520	$66,340	$100,110	$56,600	1,934,900
United States	Hourly	$15.00	$18.07	$24.51	$38.71	$61.81	$33.54	155,495,730
United States	Annual	$31,200	$37,590	$50,980	$80,520	$128,560	$69,770	155,495,730

Annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles across all occupations in the metro; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

276 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profile: Louisiana. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Lake Charles, LA

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Physicians, All Other	$284,440	$136.75	60
2	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$191,250	$91.95	150
3	Chemical Engineers	$136,810	$65.77	100
4	Industrial Production Managers	$136,800	$65.77	200
5	Pharmacists	$133,720	$64.29	220
6	Electrical Engineers	$129,940	$62.47	70
7	Industrial Engineers	$129,260	$62.14	180
8	Nurse Practitioners	$128,460	$61.76	180
9	Chemists	$128,330	$61.70	180
10	Physician Assistants	$127,160	$61.13	40
11	Mechanical Engineers	$126,090	$60.62	110
12	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$125,670	$60.42	70
13	Sales Managers in Louisiana	$124,580	$59.90	160
14	Financial Managers in Louisiana	$123,450	$59.35	240
15	Software Developers in Louisiana	$120,940	$58.14	100
16	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels	$119,630	$57.51	150
17	Veterinarians	$115,210	$55.39	60
18	Dentists, General	$114,470	$55.03	90
19	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Louisiana	$112,460	$54.07	70
20	Construction Managers	$108,590	$52.21	360

Ranked by median; an occupation whose median BLS withholds or top-codes in this area cannot appear here, however well it pays.

20 largest occupations in Lake Charles, LA

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Cashiers in Louisiana	2,840	27.89	1.40	$27,480
2	Retail Salespersons in Louisiana	2,620	25.75	1.03	$28,780
3	Registered Nurses in Louisiana	2,460	24.15	1.11	$90,690
4	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Louisiana	2,350	23.13	0.93	$22,500
5	General and Operations Managers in Louisiana	2,140	21.06	0.93	$101,370
5	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Louisiana	2,140	21.07	0.76	$23,000
7	Construction Laborers in Louisiana	2,130	20.98	2.97	$45,240
8	Waiters and Waitresses in Louisiana	1,950	19.17	1.31	$15,080
9	Food Preparation Workers in Louisiana	1,940	19.09	3.32	$23,380
10	Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers in Louisiana	1,780	17.54	4.07	$56,290
11	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Louisiana	1,690	16.59	0.87	$35,740
12	Stockers and Order Fillers in Louisiana	1,660	16.34	0.90	$34,690
13	Office Clerks, General in Louisiana	1,590	15.67	0.99	$31,630
14	Medical Assistants in Louisiana	1,510	14.88	2.83	$38,550
15	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Louisiana	1,390	13.71	1.25	$40,260
16	Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Louisiana	1,350	13.27	1.35	$46,170
17	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Louisiana	1,340	13.15	0.99	$49,960
18	Engineers, All Other	1,330	13.07	13.19	$94,810
19	Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders	1,320	13.01	14.49	$74,220
20	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Louisiana	1,290	12.72	0.90	$28,580

Most concentrated occupations in Lake Charles, LA

The 10 occupations with the highest location quotient among those employing at least 100 people in the area. A quotient of 2.00 means the occupation's share of local jobs is twice its national share.

Rank	Occupation	Location quotient	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Median annual
1	Chemical Plant and System Operators	68.50	740	7.32	$102,310
2	Gambling Dealers	16.11	880	8.70	$15,080
3	Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders	14.49	1,320	13.01	$74,220
4	Sailors and Marine Oilers	14.44	300	2.94	$38,600
5	Engineers, All Other	13.19	1,330	13.07	$94,810
6	Chemical Engineers	7.16	100	0.97	$136,810
7	Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other	6.75	150	1.52	$47,880
8	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels	6.04	150	1.43	$119,630
9	Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	5.73	170	1.63	$36,800
10	Helpers--Electricians	5.03	210	2.06	$37,930

Occupation groups in Lake Charles, LA

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$101,330	$118,330	5,600	55.02	0.77
Architecture and Engineering	$97,140	$112,130	2,640	25.98	1.54
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$83,720	$93,470	980	9.67	1.02
Computer and Mathematical	$83,200	$89,620	650	6.41	0.19
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$75,300	$91,870	6,510	64.02	1.01
Production	$72,890	$74,440	7,890	77.61	1.41
Legal	$71,930	$91,770	640	6.31	0.75
Business and Financial Operations	$68,060	$79,360	3,370	33.13	0.49
Community and Social Service	$63,420	$63,310	1,880	18.52	1.08
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$57,320	$63,330	5,570	54.80	1.40
Educational Instruction and Library	$52,140	$52,900	5,110	50.27	0.86
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$51,480	$52,460	740	7.25	0.55
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$48,430	$49,170	80	0.77	0.27
Construction and Extraction	$47,790	$53,590	7,540	74.19	1.80
Protective Service	$46,430	$49,460	3,740	36.77	1.51
Transportation and Material Moving	$38,200	$43,820	8,190	80.57	0.92
Office and Administrative Support	$37,530	$41,740	10,500	103.29	0.90
Sales and Related	$32,180	$40,850	9,010	88.64	1.03
Healthcare Support	$30,950	$31,770	5,210	51.27	1.01
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$28,890	$31,250	2,800	27.53	0.94
Personal Care and Service	$25,700	$29,670	2,720	26.76	1.28
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$22,760	$25,700	10,290	101.24	1.15

Every occupation in Louisiana, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 276 published occupations for this area are in the wage explorer; other metros are on the metros hub.

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Lake Charles, LA estimates (area 29340).

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's employment per 1,000 jobs in the Lake Charles, LA area; the location quotient is that share divided by the national share.
The concentration table keeps only occupations with employment of 100 or more in the area, so a quotient built on a handful of rounded jobs cannot top it.