What HUD offices serve Lake Charles, Louisiana?
Public Housing Agencies operate federally assisted affordable housing programs at local levels on behalf of HUD. Notably, housing agencies are responsible for managing Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, Public Housing, and Project-Based Voucher waiting lists within their jurisdiction.
Go to the Louisiana Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Lake Charles.
How many renters live in Lake Charles, Louisiana?
The City of Lake Charles has 79,106 people living in 32,463 households.
There are 35,172 renters living in 14,313 renter households in this City. Renters make up 44.46 percent of the population living in Lake Charles.
What is the rental market like in Lake Charles, Louisiana?
There are an estimated 39,628 housing units in the Lake Charles area. Of these, 15,332 units are rental homes, making up 39 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Lake Charles, Louisiana, there are 1 rental units.
What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Lake Charles?
The rental vacancy rate in Lake Charles is 9 percent. This is a higher than average vacancy rate. When rental vacancy rates are high it means that there are a lot of available units and rents tend to be lower.
How many rental units are in Lake Charles for each bedroom size?
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Lake Charles
| Studio | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four+ Bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 408 | 2,845 | 5,833 | 3,448 | 988 |
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Lake Charles
A large number of apartments in Lake Charles have two or fewer bedrooms. Seniors and young professionals especially may have more success finding an apartment that meets their needs.
How many renter households in Lake Charles are overburdened by housing costs?
Among renter households in this market, 45 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 25 percent of households are extremely rent overburdened. When renters pay too much for their housing, it leaves little money for other necessities like food, clothes, or medicine.
The federal government says that renters are cost-burdened if they pay more than a third of their monthly income for rent and utilities.
How Much Is Rent in Lake Charles
Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $835 to $1,438. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.
| Bed Size | 2024 Fair Market Rents |
| Studio | $835 |
| One BR | $840 |
| Two BR | $1,080 |
| Three BR | $1,333 |
| Four BR | $1,438 |
2024 Fair Market Rents in Lake Charles, Louisiana
How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Lake Charles?
Renters with a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher must select a home that is at or below the area’s Fair Market Rent. Markets with a large share of units above FMR tend to have longer search times to find a qualified unit, while those with a large share of units below FMR tend to have more choices and shorter search times. The share below FMR can vary by size of unit, as shown in the table below.
These are the approximate number of units renting below the FMR in this market:
| Unit Size | Count of Units Below FMR | Percentage of Total Units Below FMR |
| Studio | 119 | 29 percent |
| One BR | 1,534 | 54 percent |
| Two BR | 2,817 | 48 percent |
Rental Units Below FMR in Lake Charles, Louisiana
How many affordable rental units are in Lake Charles?
There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Lake Charles, Louisiana including the following:
| Federal Program | Unit Count |
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit | 2,423 |
| Public Housing | 297 |
| Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance | 648 |
| Mod Rehab Project-Based Rental Assistance | 70 |
| Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly | 42 |
| Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities | 60 |
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Lake Charles, Louisiana
Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.
Income Based Apartments in Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles features 1,203 income based apartments. Tenants of income based apartments typically pay no more than 30% of their income towards rent and utilities.
Low Rent Apartments in Lake Charles, Louisiana
There are 1,367 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Lake Charles.
Housing Choice Vouchers in Lake Charles, Louisiana
On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Lake Charles landlords $500 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Lake Charles.
The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Lake Charles, Louisiana for a two-bedroom apartment is between $972 and $1,188.
Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.
