Westlake is located in east-central Calcasieu Parish at , on the west bank of the Calcasieu River, just north of that river's entry into the water body of Lake Charles. The city of Lake Charles borders Westlake across the river, connected via the Interstate 10 bridge. According to the United States Census Bureau, Westlake has a total area of, of which is land and, or 1.49%, is water. Moss Bluff is just to the northeast. Sulphur is to the west, after the small community of Mossville.
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 4,568 people, 1,805 households, and 1,326 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,988.3 people per square mile. There were 1,936 housing units at an average density of 824.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 80.27% White, 17.95% black, 0.19% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.78% of the population. There were 1,805 households out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.5% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.05. In the city, the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $34,583, and the median income for a family was $39,057. Males had a median income of $42,500 versus $21,060 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,569. About 14.9% of families and 17.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.3% of those under age 18 and 20.3% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Westlake uses a city council consisting of five council members. As of April 2020, the current mayor of Westlake is Robert "Bob" Hardey.
