Lake Charles vs Alexandria leftover
You'd keep $183 more a month in Alexandria
$2,580/mo leftover in Alexandria vs $2,397 in Lake Charles after tax and rent ($183 more). +$2,196 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Lake Charles leftover
$2,397
a month after tax and rent
Alexandria leftover
$2,580
+$183 vs Lake Charles
Compare Lake Charles to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Lake Charles.
Monthly gap
Lake Charles → Alexandria
$183
more / month in Alexandria
$2,580 in Alexandria · $2,397 in Lake Charles · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 46 households moved Lake Charles → Alexandria (avg AGI $54,500). 53 went the other way. The whole move →
+$183 / mo
| Per month | Lake Charles | Alexandria | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,958 | $6,677 | −$281 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,542 | $1,450 | −$92 |
| Take-home pay | $5,417 | $5,227 | −$189 |
| Rent | $1,149 | $803 | −$346 |
| Getting around | $566 | $539 | −$27 |
| Groceries | $360 | $360 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $405 | $405 | $0 |
| Utilities | $225 | $225 | $0 |
| Everything else | $315 | $315 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,397 | $2,580 | +$183 |
To break even in Alexandria, you'd need to earn
$77,000
Household gross, versus $83,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Lake Charles does now.
The tax difference alone
+$101
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.2% in Lake Charles, 21.7% in Alexandria.
More about Alexandria
Lake Charles, LA in full
A flat 3% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,368 and 228 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
Alexandria, LA in full
A flat 3% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $956 and 226 sunny days; commutes average 24 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Alexandria on Alexandria wages.
Alexandria → Lake Charles →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Alexandria than Lake Charles?
A one-bedroom is about $1,149 in Lake Charles versus $803 in Alexandria. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $183 a month higher in Alexandria. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Alexandria have state income tax?
Alexandria is in Louisiana, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Lake Charles to Alexandria?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Louisiana tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Lake Charles and Alexandria moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.