Brunswick-St. Simons Lake Charles

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Brunswick-St. Simons to Lake Charles is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 87.7 to 85.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $76/mo.

+$1,459
BLS median salary higher in Lake Charles
300 to 410
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
14.4:1 to 16.8:1
NCES student-teacher ratio
$805
DOL infant care higher / yr in Lake Charles

BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.

Verdict
Less Favorable
Cost Index: 87.7 → 85.9
Rent Delta: -$76/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + $76/mo cheaper rent (2BR)

Cons of Moving

  • - Higher violent crime rate
  • - Higher student-teacher ratios
  • - More environmental violations

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 87.7 to 85.9 (ratio 0.98), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $76/mo ($912/yr) from $1,293 in Brunswick-St. Simons to $1,217 in Lake Charles.

The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Lake Charles sits #275 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Brunswick-St. Simons is #44/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $1,459 higher ($56,638 → $58,097). Labor-market size: 39,810 tracked jobs at origin vs 93,170 at destination.

State retirement friendliness is near-even: Georgia 68 (C, #10/51) vs Louisiana 67 (C, #15/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Brunswick-St. Simons
Lake Charles
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 87.7
RPP 85.9
Lake Charles
Rent (2BR)
$1,293/mo
$1,217/mo
Lake Charles
Wages
$56,638
$58,097
Lake Charles
Crime
300 per 100K
410 per 100K
Brunswick-St. Simons
Schools
14.4:1
16.8:1
Brunswick-St. Simons
Childcare
$6,591/yr
$7,396/yr
Brunswick-St. Simons
Environment
2771 violations
14536 violations
Brunswick-St. Simons

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · Georgia
68 C #10/51
Income tax
88
Property tax
74
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
48
Destination state · Louisiana
67 C #15/51
Income tax
78
Property tax
79
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
8

Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).

Salary Adjustment Calculator

Enter your current salary in Brunswick-St. Simons to see what you'd need to earn in Lake Charles to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Lake Charles
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Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026