Lake Charles, Louisiana

Lake Charles, Louisiana
City
Zephyr's at Downtown Lake Charles
Nickname:  The Lake Area
Interactive map of Lake Charles
Coordinates: 30°12′53″N 93°12′31″W
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Calcasieu
Founded	March 7, 1861 (1861-03-07) as Charleston
Renamed	March 16, 1867 (1867-03-16) as Lake Charles
Founded by	Charles Sallier
Named for	Charles Sallier
Government
• Mayor	Nicholas E. "Nic" Hunter (R)
• City Council	Members list Dist A: Ronnie Harvey, Jr. Dist B: Luvertha W. August Dist C: Rodney Geyen Dist D: John Ieyoub Dist E: Stuart Weatherford Dist F: Craig Marks Dist G: Mark Eckard
Area
• City	48.5 sq mi (125.5 km2)
• Land	45.7 sq mi (118.2 km2)
• Water	2.8 sq mi (7.3 km2)
Elevation	15 ft (5 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	84,872
• Estimate  (2024)	81,157
• Rank	CA: 1st LA: 5th
• Density	1,700/sq mi (680/km2)
• Urban	162,501
• Metro	254,652
Demonym	Lake Charlesian
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CST)
ZIP Codes	70601, 70602, 70605, 70606, 70607, 70609, 70615, 70616, 70629
Area Code	337
Primary airport	Lake Charles Regional Airport
Interstates
U.S. Route
Waterways	Calcasieu River
Website	www.cityoflakecharles.com

Lake Charles is the most populous city in the southwest Louisiana. It is the second most populous city in the Acadiana (after Lafayette). It is the fifth most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana (after New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Lafayette). The actual population is about 85,000. The city was founded as Charleston, March 7, 1861. The name was changed to Lake Charles on March 16, 1867. The city was founded by and named for Charles Sallier.