Overall
- Lake Charles
- 85.9
- Hot Springs
- 85.7
Diff -0.1 RPP
Lake Charles vs Hot Springs
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Hot Springs is 0.1% less expensive than Lake Charles.
0.1% less expensive
Hot Springs, AR is 0.1% less expensive than Lake Charles, LA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.7 vs 85.9). A $100,000 salary in Lake Charles buys about the same as $99,858 in Hot Springs; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 85.9 (Lake Charles) vs 85.7 (Hot Springs)
- $100k in Lake Charles ≈ $99,858 purchasing power in Hot Springs
- Rents drives the gap (+5.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair LA:AR 85.9→85.7
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE LA × AR
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Lake Charles
85.9
Cost Index
Hot Springs
85.7
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Lake Charles, LA and Hot Springs, AR are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Hot Springs is 5.5 points higher. But rents and services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Lake Charles corresponds to $99,858 in Hot Springs.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Lake Charles
- 93.7
- Hot Springs
- 93.6
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
- Lake Charles
- 71.7
- Hot Springs
- 74.3
Diff +2.5 RPP
Rents
- Lake Charles
- 51.8
- Hot Springs
- 57.3
Diff +5.5 RPP
| Category | Lake Charles | Hot Springs | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.9 | 85.7 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 93.6 | -0.1 |
| Services | 71.7 | 74.3 | +2.5 |
| Rents | 51.8 | 57.3 | +5.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lake Charles 85.9
Hot Springs 85.7
Goods
Lake Charles 93.7
Hot Springs 93.6
Services
Lake Charles 71.7
Hot Springs 74.3
Rents
Lake Charles 51.8
Hot Springs 57.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lake Charles would need to be in Hot Springs for the same purchasing power:
| In Lake Charles | In Hot Springs | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,929 | $-71 |
| $75,000 | $74,893 | $-107 |
| $100,000 | $99,858 | $-142 |
| $150,000 | $149,787 | $-213 |
$ in Lake Charles = in Hot Springs
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.9 → 85.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hot Springs more expensive than Lake Charles?
Hot Springs is 0.1% less expensive than Lake Charles. The overall cost index is 85.7 vs 85.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Hot Springs equals $100K in Lake Charles?
A $100,000 salary in Lake Charles has the same purchasing power as $99,858 in Hot Springs. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lake Charles and Hot Springs?
Rents in Lake Charles are indexed at 51.8 while Hot Springs is at 57.3 (national average = 100). Hot Springs has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.