What is the crime rate in Lake Charles, LA?

In 2025, the Lake Charles Police Department reported 534 violent crimes and 1,946 property crimes to the FBI.

That is 665 violent and 2,424 property crimes per 100,000 of the 80,280 residents it serves.

Across Louisiana the rates were 466 and 1,860.

Nationally they were 330 and 1,552.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Violent per 100,000: 665
Property per 100,000: 2,424
Violent crimes: 534
Property crimes: 1,946

Crime reported by the Lake Charles Police Department, 2023 to 2025

Offenses known to law enforcement, reported to the FBI; rates per 100,000 residents of the area the department serves
Year	Violent crimes	Violent per 100,000	Property crimes	Property per 100,000	Residents served
2023	488	639	2,251	2,947	76,393
2024	481	617	1,938	2,485	77,982
2025	534	665	1,946	2,424	80,280

Violent crimes reported went from 488 in 2023 to 534 in 2025.

Property crimes reported went from 2,251 in 2023 to 1,946 in 2025.

In a small town a handful of incidents moves these numbers a long way, so one year’s change says little on its own.

Lake Charles against Louisiana and the nation

Crimes per 100,000 residents, 2025
	Violent crime	Property crime
Lake Charles	665	2,424
Calcasieu Parish	615	2,499
Louisiana	466	1,860
United States	330	1,552

These are rates per resident; they are not adjusted for visitors, commuters or the size of the area, which raise or lower a town’s figures without changing anybody’s risk.

Crime reported in places near Lake Charles, 2025

Each place’s own police department; rates per 100,000 residents served
Place	Distance	Violent per 100,000	Property per 100,000
Lake Charles	—	665	2,424
Westlake	5.3 mi	342	1,559
Sulphur	8.9 mi	311	2,708
Iowa	12 mi	1,587	1,911
Vinton	22 mi	888	2,664
Orange	33 mi	446	960
Lake Arthur	33 mi	0	78
Jennings	33 mi	961	2,895
West Orange	34 mi	89	2,187

Neighboring departments count the same offenses the same way, but their areas, populations and visitors differ, so a difference between two towns is a starting point for a question, not an answer.

How to read these numbers

These are offenses known to the police and reported to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program: crimes nobody reported, or that a department did not record, are not in them.

Violent crime is murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property crime is burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

A department reports the crimes in the area it polices, which can differ from the town’s boundaries, and the FBI estimates the population it serves.

The FBI asks that these figures not be used to rank places or to judge how safe a neighborhood is: crime depends on many local factors, and the counts describe a whole town, not any street or home.

A year is shown only when the department reported all twelve months.

FBI: Uniform Crime Reporting statistics and their proper use

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