Food and drink · Metro area · Louisiana
Restaurants and cafes in the Lake Charles, LA metro area
The restaurants and cafes in the Lake Charles, LA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 29 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #338 of 387 scored metro areas
#8 of 10 scored metro areas based in Louisiana
- Listings
- 1,035
- 425 chain locations (41%)
- Official establishments
- 382
- −4.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $331.5M
- On food away from home · $3,601 a household
- Spending per listing
- $320K
- 14% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 112.4
- 2% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 244,655
- −3.8% since 2020
See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Lake Charles metro area
The site report maps the restaurants and cafes 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
For restaurants and cafes, the Lake Charles metro area has a Groundwork market score of 29 (lower middle): #338 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.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,035 restaurants and cafes in the Lake Charles metro area. Chain locations make up 41% of them, against 34% across the U.S. That is 112.4 per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 109.8.
At $3,601 per household (12% below the U.S. average), households in the Lake Charles metro area spend about $331.5M a year on food away from home. That works out to $320K per restaurant, 14% below the U.S. figure of $371K.
In 2023, official counts showed 382 businesses with payroll in the Lake Charles metro area classed as restaurants and other eating places, down 4.5% from 2019. That is one for every 241 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 10 SBA-backed loans worth $5M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Lake Charles metro area. 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 food away from home by the restaurants and cafes 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 | 112.4 | 110.6 | 109.8 |
| Spending per listing | $320K | $314K | $371K |
| Households per official establishment | 241 | 225 | 209 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −4.5% | +5.8% | +6.0% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.8% | −0.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,601 | $3,469 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $66,700 | $60,756 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 29 | 19 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 382−4.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 7,053
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $142.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 82Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,035425 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 894The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 10
- Amount
- $5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places 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 restaurants and cafes 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 cardRestaurants and cafes across Louisiana
Every Louisiana market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Louisiana for restaurants and cafes, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Alexandria, LA | 44 | 493 | 87.4 | $382K | −2.5% | #228 of 387 |
| 2Baton Rouge, LA | 43 | 3,427 | 103.0 | $361K | +2.1% | #240 of 387 |
| 3Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA | 41 | 1,243 | 118.3 | $340K | +5.3% | #255 of 387 |
| 4Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA | 38 | 796 | 99.6 | $348K | −3.5% | #276 of 387 |
| 5Monroe, LA | 35 | 812 | 93.3 | $344K | −1.9% | #296 of 387 |
| 6Hammond, LA | 34 | 525 | 101.0 | $328K | +5.8% | #306 of 387 |
| 7Lafayette, LA | 31 | 1,854 | 112.8 | $307K | +3.8% | #330 of 387 |
| 8Lake Charles, LA | 29 | 1,035 | 112.4 | $320K | −3.8% | #338 of 387 |
| 9Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | 25 | 1,593 | 101.4 | $327K | −2.3% | #354 of 387 |
| 10New Orleans-Metairie, LA | 9 | 5,929 | 148.8 | $239K | −3.4% | #387 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
- Restaurants and cafes29
- Sit-down restaurants35
- Fast food and sandwich shops19
- Pizza51
- Coffee shops and cafes54
- Bakeries and dessert shops24
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many restaurants and cafes are in the Lake Charles, LA metro area?
There are 1,035 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Lake Charles metro area as of September 2026. 425 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 382 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, down 4.5% from 2019. Another 82 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Lake Charles, LA metro area spend on food away from home?
About $331.5M a year, or $3,601 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,035 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $320K per restaurant. 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 restaurants and cafes?
The Lake Charles metro area has 112.4 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $320K, 14% below the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Lake Charles metro area would have about 894, against 1,035 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 241 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count fell 4.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% 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 29 for restaurants and cafes (lower middle), #338 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 restaurants and cafes 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 restaurants and cafes · 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.