Moving from Lake Charles to Alexandria
Lake Charles to Alexandria: $183 more leftover
$2,580/mo leftover in Alexandria vs $2,397 in Lake Charles after tax and rent ($183 more). +$2,196 a year — not a moving-company quote.
Lake Charles leftover
$2,397
a month after tax and rent
Alexandria leftover
$2,580
+$183 vs Lake Charles
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, 46 households moved Lake Charles → Alexandria (about 85 people, average AGI $54,500). 53 households went the other way.
Source: IRS SOI county-to-county migration. Not a moving company; not a recommendation.
| Per month | Lake Charles | Alexandria |
|---|---|---|
| Take-home | $5,417 | $5,227 |
| Rent | $1,149 | $803 |
| All other costs | $1,871 | $1,844 |
| Left over | $2,397 | $2,580 |
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.
Full line-by-line comparison →
What the move itself costs
About 116 road miles, 1 bedroom. Typical ranges, not quotes.
- Full-service mover
- $1,650–$3,100
- Container or pod
- $1,100–$2,100
- Rent a truck
- $400–$750
Other moves from Lake Charles
Dig into Alexandria
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 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.
Did people actually move from Lake Charles to Alexandria?
When IRS county-to-county data covers this pair, the page lists how many households made the Lake Charles → Alexandria move and their average AGI. Leftover after tax and rent is shown for the same household on both sides.