Moving from Baton Rouge to Lake Charles
Baton Rouge to Lake Charles: $253 less leftover
$2,402/mo leftover in Lake Charles vs $2,655 in Baton Rouge after tax and rent ($253 less). −$3,036 a year — not a moving-company quote.
Baton Rouge leftover
$2,655
a month after tax and rent
Lake Charles leftover
$2,402
−$253 vs Baton Rouge
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
Leftover is not a cost-of-living index. Leftover vs a COL index
Who already made this move
In 2022-2023, 144 households moved Baton Rouge → Lake Charles (about 268 people, average AGI $48,146). 97 households went the other way.
Source: IRS SOI county-to-county migration. Not a moving company; not a recommendation.
| Per month | Baton Rouge | Lake Charles |
|---|---|---|
| Take-home | $5,585 | $5,422 |
| Rent | $1,065 | $1,149 |
| All other costs | $1,865 | $1,871 |
| Left over | $2,655 | $2,402 |
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 Baton Rouge and Lake Charles 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.
Full line-by-line comparison →
What the move itself costs
About 153 road miles, 1 bedroom. Typical ranges, not quotes.
- Full-service mover
- $1,700–$3,150
- Container or pod
- $1,150–$2,150
- Rent a truck
- $450–$800
Other moves from Baton Rouge
Dig into Lake Charles
Paycheck
Take-home pay after tax and rent, and what's left at the end of the month.
Who moved
Which metros people actually left and arrived from, according to IRS tax returns.
Rent vs buy
Asking rent, the median home, property tax, and months to a down payment.
Monthly costs
Groceries, getting around, utilities, healthcare and childcare at your household size.
Daily life
Homicide and firearm death rates, heat, cars and commute.
Kids
Public-school enrollment, pupil–teacher ratio, bedrooms and childcare.
Getting there
Typical cost to get here, then leftover after tax and rent — not a moving-company directory.
Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Lake Charles than Baton Rouge?
A one-bedroom is about $1,065 in Baton Rouge versus $1,149 in Lake Charles. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $253 a month lower in Lake Charles. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Lake Charles have state income tax?
Lake Charles is in Louisiana, which taxes wage income.
Did people actually move from Baton Rouge to Lake Charles?
When IRS county-to-county data covers this pair, the page lists how many households made the Baton Rouge → Lake Charles move and their average AGI. Leftover after tax and rent is shown for the same household on both sides.