Neighborhood Scorecard

Source:

70615 – Lake Charles, LA

The neighborhood scorecard for ZIP 70615 in Lake Charles, LA blends seven federal datasets into a single letter grade of F (31/100). The underlying inputs pulled for this ZIP include a median household income of $40,047, a median home value of $140,400, 14.3% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher, and an average commute of -. Every value comes directly from Census ACS 5-Year Estimates tied to ZIP 70615, not a national average mapped onto the ZIP.

Cross-agency inputs extend the score beyond Census demographics. Department of Labor county childcare data lists infant center-based care at $7,973 per year, which the scorecard weighs against local median income to form the childcare grade. If any of these feeds is missing for 70615, the scorecard transparently drops that dimension rather than inventing a score.

Reading the grade means reading the dimensions together. The overall F score for 70615 reflects a weighted blend, Income (20%), Safety (20%), Housing (15%), Rent (15%), Education (10%), Commute (10%), and Childcare (10%) - and each dimension is benchmarked against national percentiles rather than in-state-only comparisons. Areas pulling the overall grade down are income, education, rent, childcare. The 3 nearby ZIP codes listed below provide immediate geographic context, two adjacent ZIPs can land several grade letters apart due to school-district boundaries, zoning, and commute arteries.

F
Overall Score
31/100
70615 – Lake Charles, LA

Based on income, housing cost, safety, education, commute, and childcare-cost data from federal sources, not school test scores, walkability, weather, culture, or day-to-day livability.

Income F
$40,047
Median household income
Education F
14.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher
Housing D
3.5x
Home value $140,400 vs income
Commute N/A
N/A
Average commute time
Rent F
$1,217/mo
2BR fair market rent (36% of income)
Safety N/A
N/A
Violent crime rate (county)
Childcare F
$7,973/yr
Center-based infant care (20% of income)

Score Breakdown

Income

F
$40,047

Median household income

Score: 25/100

Education

F
14.3%

Bachelor's degree or higher

Score: 18/100

Housing

D
3.5x

Home value $140,400 vs income

Score: 50/100

Commute

N/A
N/A

Average commute time

Rent

F
$1,217/mo

2BR fair market rent (36% of income)

Score: 30/100

Safety

N/A
N/A

Violent crime rate (county)

Childcare

F
$7,973/yr

Center-based infant care (20% of income)

Score: 32/100

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What This Means

Lake Charles, LA (70615) receives an overall grade of F based on publicly available data from the Census Bureau, HUD, FBI, and Department of Labor. Challenges include income and education and rent and childcare. Data was unavailable for commute, safety – these dimensions were excluded from the overall score.

Nearby ZIP Scorecards

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Full ZIP Code Data
Demographics, housing, income, and more for 70615
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the overall score for ZIP 70615?
ZIP 70615 (Lake Charles, LA) has an overall neighborhood score of 31/100, earning a grade of F. This score combines 7 dimensions: income, education, housing affordability, commute, rent, safety, and childcare costs.
Is 70615 a good place to live?
This scorecard cannot answer that on its own, it measures 7 economic and housing-cost indicators (income, education, housing affordability, commute, rent, safety, and childcare cost) from Census, HUD, FBI, and DOL data, not school test scores, walkability, weather, culture, or the other factors that make a neighborhood a good fit for a given household. On those 7 measured dimensions, 70615 scores F (31/100) overall. It scores lower on income, education, rent, childcare.
How is the neighborhood scorecard calculated?
The scorecard evaluates 7 dimensions weighted by importance: Income (20%), Safety (20%), Housing affordability (15%), Rent (15%), Education (10%), Commute (10%), and Childcare (10%). Each metric is compared against national benchmarks to produce a percentile score.

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates. Source: HUD Fair Market Rents. Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. Source: DOL Childcare Costs. Verify with HUD →