Baker, Louisiana

Area Profile

12,253 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Baker, in East Baton Rouge Parish.

57out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 46% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 37% of 4,199 cities measured63
Schools2,382nd of 4,162 cities measured44
Growth2,684th of 4,224 cities measured44
Housing affordabilityTop 26% of 4,218 cities measured75
ClimateTop 25% of 4,225 cities measured77
Physical resilience2,568th of 4,226 cities measured47
Access3,784th of 4,226 cities measured69
Economic stability3,812th of 4,226 cities measured30
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.2% and median household income $54,750, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, which contains Baker, rather than for Baker alone.

In the public schools here, 63% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.3 students for every teacher. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, which contains Baker, rather than for Baker alone.

9 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 13% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
12,253
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$54,750
Bottom 31% nationally
Density
1,453/sq mi
8.4 sq mi of land
Median age
33.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
Metro area
Nearest major airport
LFT
56 mi · Lafayette Rgnl/Paul Fournet Fld
Median home value
$157,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, which contains Baker, is 4.2%, lower than in 55% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, which contains Baker, grew 2.9% over the past year, to 220,587 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsEast Baton Rouge Parish, LA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,45318th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftEast Baton Rouge Parish, LA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$63,60132nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$12,1982024 ACS 5-Year$54,750Bottom 31%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,8232024 ACS 5-Year$23,746Bottom 17%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year27.0%Bottom 12%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.5 minTop 49%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year20.6%Top 50%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year83.8%72nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentEast Baton Rouge Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026220,587Top 31%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)East Baton Rouge Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026+2.9%Top 14%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)East Baton Rouge Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026+2.9%Top 2%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceEast Baton Rouge Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026230,24269th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year80.0%Top 44%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBaton Rouge, LA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$61,230Bottom 20%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageBaton Rouge, LA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$48,710Bottom 30%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%73rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)East Baton Rouge Parish, LA’s figureJuly 2026−0.4%Top 34%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateEast Baton Rouge Parish, LA’s figureJuly 20264.2%Top 45%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.8%30th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202461k55k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $54,750 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Baton Rouge, LA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Cashiers9,130$27,110
Retail Salespersons9,020$30,070
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand8,760$36,450
Fast Food and Counter Workers8,490$23,650
Registered Nurses8,290$81,130
General and Operations Managers8,230$107,140

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, which contains this city.

63% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 69% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, which contains Baker, rather than for Baker alone.

There are 13.3 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places. The student-teacher ratio is published for East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, which contains Baker, rather than for Baker alone.

Public schools
—
Students per teacher
13.3
Math proficiency
63.4%
Bottom 33% in Louisiana
Reading proficiency
69.3%
Bottom 38% in Louisiana

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for East Baton Rouge Parish, LA: too few schools in Baker reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Louisiana’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 9% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 91.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Baton Rouge, LA Metro Area is up 24% over five years, and up 2.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $703 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.45% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,204, some 21% above the $993 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,204 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $48,200 a year, about 88% of the median household income here of $54,750.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $993 a month.

A median home at $157,900 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $63,635, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
91.2

Prices here run about 9% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Baton Rouge, LA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
29.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,204
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$993
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$157,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Baker’s median household income of $54,750, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Baton Rouge, LA Metro Area’s figure202391.2Top 10%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Baton Rouge, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.8%45th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Baton Rouge, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+24.4%8th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Baton Rouge, LA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+46.7%3rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.5Top 50%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year69.9%37th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4002024 ACS 5-Year5,00988th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,064Top 27%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,511Top 18%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,204Top 21%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$3012024 ACS 5-Year$993Bottom 48%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,5412024 ACS 5-Year$157,90040th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1252024 ACS 5-Year$70313th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,3612024 ACS 5-Year$63,635Bottom 28%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year0.45%8th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±14%2024 ACS 5-Year29.1%Bottom 45%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±222024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year14.3%78th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2612024 ACS 5-Year71793rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

44/ 100
Ranks 2,684 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 2% since 2020, to 12,147 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 9 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show East Baton Rouge Parish, which contains Baker, lost about 0.9% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $56,453, below the $63,601 of households that moved out.

At 0.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
9
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.7
Bottom 21% nationally
Year over year
+13%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202412k12k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.9%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
38%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$56,453
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$63,601
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Livingston Parish, LA 1,897 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. Ascension Parish, LA 1,560 people · 9.9% of arrivals
  3. Orleans Parish, LA 585 people · 3.7% of arrivals
  4. Harris County, TX 558 people · 3.6% of arrivals
  5. West Baton Rouge Parish, LA 499 people · 3.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Livingston Parish, LA 2,721 people · 15% of departures
  2. Ascension Parish, LA 1,754 people · 9.5% of departures
  3. Harris County, TX 977 people · 5.3% of departures
  4. West Baton Rouge Parish, LA 559 people · 3.0% of departures
  5. Orleans Parish, LA 555 people · 3.0% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for East Baton Rouge Parish, LA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420259.06.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+29%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 42°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 61.9 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 51, in the Moderate band, and about 7 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BATON ROUGE RYAN AP, 3.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year692024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals61.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year72024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year512024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals31°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
51
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
69
90th percentile index
Days above 100
7
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

47 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 39% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

LightningModerate
HurricaneElevated
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, cold wave, heat wave, inland flooding, hail, ice storm, earthquake, strong wind, winter weather, landslide, coastal flooding, wildfire, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
398
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,118
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Baker's police department reported 398 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,118.

East Baton Rouge Parish records 19.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 24.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 23.2 per 100,000 residents in East Baton Rouge Parish.

Homicide
19.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
24.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
23.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
10.9
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Baker’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Baker (East Baton Rouge Parish) rather than Baker itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Lafayette Rgnl/Paul Fournet Fld at 56 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year92.5%Top 37%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle56 miBottom 10%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year5.9%Top 42%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Lafayette Rgnl/Paul Fournet FldLFT56 mi8,000 ft
Acadiana RgnlARA57 mi8,002 ft
Louis Armstrong New Orleans IntlMSY67 mi10,104 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
57
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—

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Other cities in Baton Rouge, LA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Baton RougeEast Baton Rouge Parish222,77156Baton Rouge vs Baker
PrairievilleAscension Parish35,23872Prairieville vs Baker
CentralEast Baton Rouge Parish29,78358Central vs Baker
ZacharyEast Baton Rouge Parish19,95271
ShenandoahEast Baton Rouge Parish17,99868
GonzalesAscension Parish13,10872
GardereEast Baton Rouge Parish12,22360
Morgan CityAssumption Parish11,06454

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Baker side by side with a similar place.

Baker vs Cape GirardeauBaker vs Madison

Moving to Baker from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.