The Lake Charles metropolitan statistical area is a metropolitan area in the Acadiana region of southwest Louisiana that covers three parishes—Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis. According to a 2019 census estimate, the MSA had a population of 210,409. It is also part of the larger Lake Charles–DeRidder combined statistical area which had a population of 241,777 in 2019. The Lake Charles MSA also shares borders with the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area to the west. Metropolitan Lake Charles, the principal city, is commonly referred to as the Lake Area.

Acadiana, also known as the Cajun Country, is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that has historically contained much of the state's Francophone population.