Lake Charles, Louisiana: Realigner market. In 2024, voted R+47%. Democratic peak: D+84 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+47MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- RealignerAkashic typology
- Population
- 271,2562024 5-year
- Median household income
- $65,7402024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 68.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 21.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+84 in 1916MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+47 in 2024MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Lake Charles, LAOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 27,990 | 79,691 | 109,188 | ||
| R | 30,956 | 79,886 | 112,869 | ||
| R | 31,118 | 76,552 | 111,800 | ||
| R | 34,212 | 72,717 | 109,002 | ||
| R | 36,819 | 70,589 | 109,465 | ||
| R | 41,688 | 63,875 | 106,743 | ||
| R | 43,226 | 52,576 | 98,316 | ||
| D | 50,196 | 35,974 | 99,152 | ||
| D | 46,218 | 34,364 | 96,768 | ||
| D | 46,097 | 41,564 | 88,443 | ||
| R | 43,863 | 49,658 | 94,146 | ||
| D | 49,280 | 37,627 | 89,280 | ||
| D | 47,107 | 23,580 | 72,392 | ||
| R | 19,826 | 34,705 | 58,376 | ||
| O | 18,721 | 12,544 | 61,447 | ||
| R | 23,970 | 31,697 | 55,667 | ||
| D | 32,799 | 14,673 | 52,147 | ||
| R | 17,609 | 19,487 | 38,132 | ||
| D | 21,569 | 14,036 | 35,605 | ||
| D | 11,465 | 2,717 | 20,253 | ||
| D | 13,317 | 3,048 | 16,365 | ||
| D | 13,437 | 2,278 | 15,726 | ||
| D | 11,714 | 1,926 | 13,653 | ||
| D | 11,437 | 964 | 12,427 | ||
| D | 6,743 | 3,231 | 9,977 | ||
| D | 5,050 | 1,794 | 6,878 | ||
| D | 4,780 | 938 | 5,745 | ||
| D | 3,637 | 315 | 3,966 | ||
| D | 2,263 | 184 | 3,387 | ||
| D | 2,255 | 698 | 3,145 | ||
| D | 1,280 | 416 | 1,782 | ||
| D | 1,744 | 711 | 2,455 | ||
| D | 2,909 | 928 | 3,873 | ||
| D | 1,273 | 673 | 1,946 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
French
10.5%
English
8.6%
American
7.1%
Irish
6.9%
German
6.6%
Italian
2.2%
Scottish
1.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 37.5 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$65,740
Lake Charles ranks near the middle of US counties.
Lake Charles$65,740
Louisiana$60,756
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
17.3%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1823.4%
Working age (18–64)15.4%
Seniors (65+)13.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.6%
speak English only
Spanish3.2%
Other Indo-European2.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 39.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Lake Charles media market anchors Louisiana's southwestern corner, where refinery and chemical plant payrolls have historically anchored working-class Democratic loyalty that has since shifted sharply toward Republican margins over two decades.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Lake Charles peaked at eighty-four points in 1932; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 2000 election delivered the market to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of ten points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.
The economic and demographic context is severe. The median household income of $65,740 is among the lowest at this geographic scale; 17% of residents live below the federal poverty line.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Lake Charles, Louisiana — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/643/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Lake Charles, Louisiana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Lake Charles, Louisiana voted Republican by 47.4 points (R+47), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 109,188 votes cast, 27,990 went Democratic and 79,691 went Republican.
What is Lake Charles, Louisiana's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Lake Charles, Louisiana as a "Realigner" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 22 times, Republican 11 times, and other 1 times.
When did Lake Charles, Louisiana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Lake Charles, Louisiana voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Lake Charles, Louisiana?
Lake Charles, Louisiana has a population of 271,256 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Lake Charles, Louisiana?
Median household income in Lake Charles, Louisiana is $65,740 — below the national median of $80,734. The Louisiana state median is $60,756.
What is the political history of Lake Charles, Louisiana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Lake Charles, Louisiana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 22 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Realigner" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.