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Cost of living, pay and housing

30.18° N · 93.37° W · GEOID 2212840

Carlyss

Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana · part of the Lake Charles, LA metro

Limited data population under 5,000

LouisianaCarlyss, LACarlyssCarlyss

The short answer

Carlyss is home to 4,412 people. Median household income is $78,179 a year and median rent is $1,358 a month, 20.8% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $173,200, about 2.2x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,358
1% below the median place
Median household income
$78,179
3% below the median place
Median home value
$173,200
46% below the median place
Unemployment
5.4%
11% above the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Carlyss

  • 94% of renter households spend 30% or more of income on rent, a higher share than in 99% of the 2,214 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 86 Louisiana places.
  • Half the homes were built after 2006, newer housing than in 96% of places its size. It is the 3rd-highest of 95 Louisiana places.
  • Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 9.5% a year while rent rose 4.1%, so pay gained on rent more than in 89% of places its size.
  • The median home is worth 2.2 years of the median household's income, fewer than in 91% of places its size.
  • Owning with a mortgage costs only about $131 a month more than the median rent, a smaller gap than in 88% of places its size.
01

Moving to Carlyss

Calcasieu Parish gains about 2.2 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in6,997
Moved out6,678
Net+319

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Within Louisiana, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within LouisianaOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$49K
Leavers$57K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Calcasieu Parish; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
4.9% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 1.5% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Calcasieu Parish report $49,400 a year in income on average; those leaving, $57,400, so leavers earn more than newcomers.
Income you would need
$54,300 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,358 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,489 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $173,200.
Getting to work
21 minutes each way on average; 5.6% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Woodmere, LA matches it on character. Compare the two
Income of households moving in7
$49,387
30% below the median place
Income of households moving out7
$57,389
18% below the median place
Net movers per 1,000 people7
2.2
above the median place (median -0.6)
All 5 moving measures
MeasureCarlyssAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure4.9%15% below
Moved from another state1County figure1.5%22% below
Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure2.2above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in7County figure$49,38730% below
Income of households moving out7County figure$57,38918% below
02

What it costs to live here

Renters paying 30%+ is 94.4%, 87% above the median place.

Carlyss20.8%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$54,320
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
20.8%
2% above the median place
Home price to income
2.2x
42% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
21%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$66,500
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Carlyss, $1,358 a month, and local prices for everything else (92.8 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like Carlyss, but easier on the budget

Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.

PlaceRent to incomeMore left a year
Sierra View, PA17.8% vs 20.8%n/aCompare
Rutherford, PA16.6% vs 20.8%$3,700Compare
Marion, AR17.6% vs 20.8%$1,500Compare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Carlyss.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Carlyss? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Renters paying 30%+1
94.4%
87% above the median place
Median year built1
2006
1% above the median place
Property tax paid (median)1
$1,189
64% below the median place
All 16 cost and housing measures
MeasureCarlyssAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,3581% below
Rent to income120.8%2% above
Property tax rate10.7%24% below
Home price to income12.2x42% below
Prices vs US average2Metro figure85.815% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$1,23124% below
HUD area median income4County figure$93,00013% below
Property tax paid (median)1$1,18964% below
Median home value1$173,20046% below
Home prices, 1-year change5County figure-1.4%below (median 3.2%)
Home prices, 5-year change5County figure11.4%78% below
Homeownership174.2%12% above
Renters paying 30%+194.4%87% above
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,48920% below
Vacant homes116.1%127% above
Median year built120061% above
03

Work and pay

Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).

Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Mean commute1
21 min
17% below the median place
Poverty rate1
16.1%
49% above the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureCarlyssAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$78,1793% below
Income per person1$36,3909% below
Unemployment1County figure5.4%11% above
Average annual pay6County figure$63,0634% below
Pay growth, 1 year6County figure2.2%41% below
Jobs6County figure89,31041% below
Poverty rate116.1%49% above
Mean commute121 min17% below
Works from home1County figure5.6%55% below
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Homes with broadband is 76.7%, 17% below the median place.

Homes with broadband1
76.7%
17% below the median place
High school or higher1
82.4%
11% below the median place
Bachelor's or higher1
18.2%
43% below the median place
All 8 people measures
MeasureCarlyssAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population14,4126646th largest
Median age135.69% below
Bachelor's or higher118.2%43% below
High school or higher182.4%11% below
Household size12.44% below
Born abroad1County figure3.6%59% below
No health insurance1County figure7.6%19% above
Homes with broadband176.7%17% below
05

Life in Carlyss

23 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents4.5 −55%
Playgrounds per 10k11.3 +20%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k4.5 −59%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars19.4 −7%
Shops37.6 +24%
Arts, recreation and fitness3.6 −12%
Doctors' offices and clinics19.8 −2%
Child care centers2.0 −13%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Students per teacher11
12.5
19% below the median place
Shops per 10k8
37.6
24% above the median place
Public schools11
59
above the median place (median 9)
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureCarlyssAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools11County figure59above (median 9)
Public school students11County figure30,278above (median 4,897)
Students per teacher11County figure12.519% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure19.47% below
Shops per 10k8County figure37.624% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure3.612% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure19.82% below
Child care centers per 10k8County figure2.013% below
Parks per 10k94.555% below
Playgrounds per 10k911.320% above
Grocery stores per 10k90.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k94.559% below
Libraries per 10k90.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails90.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi90.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings10County figure2377% above
06

Safety, weather and risk

Annual precipitation is 61.2 in, 40% above the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Carlyss. Larger places are fetched first.

Annual precipitation12
61.2 in
40% above the median place
Hurricane risk13
98.2
39% above the median place
January average low12
42°F
67% above the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureCarlyssAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high12County figure92°F5% above
January average low12County figure42°F67% above
Average temperature12County figure68°F25% above
Annual precipitation12County figure61.2 in40% above
Natural hazard risk13County figure95.74% above
Hurricane risk13County figure98.239% above
Tornado risk13County figure95.617% above
Wildfire risk13County figure90.548% above
Heat wave risk13County figure88.52% below
Median air quality index14County figure479% above
Good air days14County figure62.2%9% below
08

Carlyss in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 20% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 21% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$1,358/mo (2024)$1,730/mo$1,420 to $2,110/mo+4.1%
Median household income$78,179 (2024)$102,000$86,000 to $120,500+4.5%
Median home value$173,200 (2024)$254,000$184,000 to $350,000+6.6%

The median home would be worth 2.5 years of the median income in 2030, against 2.2 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Carlyss

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Woodmere, LA$1,382$75,828Compare
Hitchcock, TX$1,380$74,157Compare
Trenton, OH$1,284$80,635Compare
Pine Hill, NJ$1,411$72,588Compare
Pine Hill, NJTrenton, OHHitchcock, TXWoodmere, LACarlyss, LACarlyssWoodmereHitchcockTrentonPine HillCarlyssWoodmereHitchcockTrentonPine Hill

Common questions

Is Carlyss a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. 94% of renter households spend 30% or more of income on rent, a higher share than in 99% of the 2,214 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 86 Louisiana places. Half the homes were built after 2006, newer housing than in 96% of places its size. It is the 3rd-highest of 95 Louisiana places. On cost, space and class size it scores 63 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Carlyss expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 20.8% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $173,200.

What salary do you need to live in Carlyss?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $54,320 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Carlyss?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Woodmere, LA, Hitchcock, TX, Trenton, OH and Pine Hill, NJ.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  10. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  11. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  12. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  13. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  14. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Carlyss with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Carlyss itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/carlyss-louisiana

Citytistics. “Carlyss, Louisiana.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/carlyss-louisiana/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.