Groceries and convenience · Metro area · Louisiana
Grocery and convenience stores in the Lake Charles, LA metro area
How the Lake Charles, LA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 16 out of 100: Low
Ranked #376 of 387 scored metro areas
#8 of 10 scored metro areas based in Louisiana
- Listings
- 239
- 97 chain locations (41%)
- Official establishments
- 76
- +11.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $538.1M
- On groceries · $5,846 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.3M
- 34% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 26.0
- 39% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 244,655
- −3.8% since 2020
See the grocery and convenience stores around any address in the Lake Charles metro area
The site report maps the grocery and convenience stores on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Lake Charles metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
The Groundwork market score for grocery and convenience stores in the Lake Charles metro area is 16 (low), #376 of 387 scored metro areas and #8 of 10 scored metro areas based in Louisiana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Household spending on groceries in the Lake Charles metro area comes to about $538.1M a year: $5,846 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.3M of household spending for each store on map listings, 34% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M.
There are 239 grocery and convenience stores on map listings in the Lake Charles metro area as of September 2026. 97 of them (41%) are chain locations, against 42% across the U.S. That is 26.0 per 10,000 households, 39% above the U.S. rate of 18.7.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Lake Charles metro area was 76 in 2023, up 11.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,211 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Lake Charles metro area declined 3.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Lake Charles metro area compares
The same measures for Louisiana and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all groceries by the grocery and convenience stores counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Lake Charles metro area | Louisiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 26.0 | 25.1 | 18.7 |
| Spending per listing | $2.3M | $2.3M | $3.4M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,211 | 1,210 | 1,293 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.8% | +8.6% | +7.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.8% | −0.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on groceries | $5,846 | $5,704 | $6,319 |
| Median household income | $66,700 | $60,756 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 16 | 12 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 76+11.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,431
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $56.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 28Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 23997 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 159The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as grocery and convenience stores in the Lake Charles metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Lake Charles metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 244,655−3.8% since 2020
- Households
- 92,043
- Median age
- 38.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 3,006 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 81
- Median household income
- $66,700
- Average household income
- $91,252
- Median home value
- $207,800
- Jobs located here
- 97,089
- Daytime population
- 245,958Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lake Charles metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the grocery and convenience stores on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Lake Charles metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardGrocery and convenience stores across Louisiana
Every Louisiana market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Louisiana for grocery and convenience stores, numbered among those based in Louisiana, with the Lake Charles metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Louisiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA | 64 | 189 | 18.0 | $3.5M | +5.3% | #103 of 387 |
| 2Hammond, LA | 32 | 140 | 26.9 | $2.1M | +5.8% | #315 of 387 |
| 3Baton Rouge, LA | 24 | 839 | 25.2 | $2.4M | +2.1% | #349 of 387 |
| 4Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | 23 | 320 | 20.4 | $2.7M | −2.3% | #352 of 387 |
| 5Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA | 21 | 199 | 24.9 | $2.3M | −3.5% | #359 of 387 |
| 6Lafayette, LA | 21 | 476 | 29.0 | $2M | +3.8% | #360 of 387 |
| 7New Orleans-Metairie, LA | 17 | 864 | 21.7 | $2.7M | −3.4% | #372 of 387 |
| 8Lake Charles, LA | 16 | 239 | 26.0 | $2.3M | −3.8% | #376 of 387 |
| 9Alexandria, LA | 14 | 154 | 27.3 | $2M | −2.5% | #380 of 387 |
| 10Monroe, LA | 11 | 225 | 25.9 | $2.1M | −1.9% | #385 of 387 |
Other business types in the Lake Charles metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
- Grocery and convenience stores16
- Grocery stores20
- Convenience stores14
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many grocery and convenience stores are in the Lake Charles, LA metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 239 grocery and convenience stores in the Lake Charles metro area. 97 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count grocery, convenience and specialty food stores. Official counts show 76 businesses with payroll classed as grocery and convenience stores in 2023, up 11.8% from 2019. Official counts also show 28 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Lake Charles, LA metro area spend on groceries?
About $538.1M a year, or $5,846 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 239 grocery and convenience stores on map listings, it comes to $2.3M per store. It is estimated from the incomes of the 92,043 households in the Lake Charles metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lake Charles, LA metro area compare with the U.S. for grocery and convenience stores?
The Lake Charles metro area has 26.0 grocery and convenience stores per 10,000 households, 39% above the U.S. rate of 18.7. Spending per store is $2.3M, 34% below the U.S. figure of $3.4M. At the U.S. ratio of grocery and convenience stores to household spending, the Lake Charles metro area would have about 159, against 239 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,211 households, against one for every 1,293 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Lake Charles, LA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Lake Charles metro area at 244,655 people in 2025, down 3.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 92,043 households. The median household income in the Lake Charles metro area is $66,700 a year, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Lake Charles metro area scores 16 for grocery and convenience stores (low), #376 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Lake Charles metro area. It maps the grocery and convenience stores on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for grocery and convenience stores · All 56 business types in the Lake Charles metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lake Charles metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Lake Charles metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.