Southwest Louisiana is showing signs of consistent recovery from the 2020 hurricane season, subsequent extreme weather and the COVID-19 pandemic. Population growth has returned, employment is trending upward and economists are optimistic about SWLA’s future.
That was the overall message at a recent State of Southwest Louisiana luncheon event where elected officials, business leaders and community members heard about the five-parish region’s economic outlook.
For years following extreme weather events in 2020, many left Southwest Louisiana. However, over the past two years, the region has seen its population bounce back, driven primarily by population growth in Calcasieu Parish, according to McNeese State University economist Daniel Groft.
From 2023 to 2025, Calcasieu alone gained more than 5,600 residents, according to the U.S. Census estimates highlighted in Groft’s presentation.
The city of Lake Charles is leading that growth.
Between 2022 and 2025, the population of Lake Charles grew from 79,342 to 82,676 people, a 4.1% increase that Groft said ranked first among all incorporated places in Louisiana.
Employment is also slowly recovering, Groft said.
The state overall has seen employment rate increases in 2024 and 2025 after seven years of losses, and is now back above pre-pandemic employment levels.
“If you look over the past year and a half, we have been on the upward trend,” Groft said. “It may not be a huge upward trend, but we are growing.”
Lake Charles metro employment is 3,700 jobs above August 2020 (pre-storm) levels, Groft said, and employment is up by 1,300 jobs year-over year. However, employment is still about 11,400 jobs below February 2020 levels, although Groft expects a continued upward trend.
Financial ratings firm Moody’s isn’t quite as bullish, noting that Lake Charles’ economy has picked up, but projecting that it’ll taper off toward the end of the year. Still, Groft points out, “compared to what they said last year, ‘Lake Charles is going nowhere’, we are much better,” Groft said.
But full recovery is not yet complete and national economic conditions remain uncertain.
Higher interest rates continue to be a major factor for businesses and homebuyers, as are elevated gas prices due to the war in Iran. Although wages were growing faster than inflation from 2023 to 2025, inflation has been rising faster in the last couple of months, according to Groft, who says this is “hopefully, temporary.”
As for the future, Groft remained optimistic, predicting “continued growth in Southwest Louisiana” in all of his forecasts.