AreaProfile

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Area Profile

222,771 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Baton Rouge, in East Baton Rouge Parish.

57
Area Score
Bottom 30% of 133 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity83rd of 139 published cities53
GrowthTop 45% of 134 published cities55
Housing affordability85th of 150 published cities63
ClimateTop 26% of 149 published cities77
Physical resilience90th of 150 published cities47
Access141st of 149 published cities70
Economic stability145th of 150 published cities31
The quick read

Residential permitting has slowed: 1,479 units authorized over the past twelve months, 23% below the prior year.

Its Area Score of 57 places Baton Rouge in the top 70% of published city profiles.

At a glance

Population
222,771
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$49,994
Bottom 23% nationally
Density
2,562/sq mi
86.9 sq mi of land
Median age
31.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
East Baton Rouge Parish
Louisiana
Metro area
Baton Rouge, LA
Nearest major airport
ARA
53 mi · Acadiana Rgnl
Median home value
$234,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.3% is lower than 15% of the 140 measured US cities.

Employment grew 2.0% over the past year, to 103,327 employed residents.

37% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 78% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $49,994 is below 77% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,546$49,994Bottom 23%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,769$34,731Top 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate25.7%Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute22.8 minBottom 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher36.6%Top 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment103,327Bottom 19%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)2.7%Top 19%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)2.0%Top 2%June 2026
Labor force109,106Bottom 19%June 2026
Labor force participation60.6%Top 50%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$61,230Bottom 26%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$48,710Bottom 35%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.2%Bottom 38%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.3%Top 15%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/068.43.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.3% in June 2026.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202450k46k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $49,994 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

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.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,067 takes 26% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.7 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
25.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.7×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,067
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$234,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.69Top 18%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate47.8%Bottom 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1,281106,712Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$21$1,067Top 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,832$234,700Top 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income25.6%Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate17.3%Top 29%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
55/ 100
Top 45% of 134 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing — 2 consecutive years, measured from 2020 to 2025.

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, reaching 220,907 in 2024.

63% of recently permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

At 6.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
1,479
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.6
Top 25% nationally
Year over year
−23%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
62.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024226k221k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
202020222023202420252k231
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+491%).

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.

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, 6.7 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND6.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation61.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall0.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low42°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing31°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

47 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, lightning and drought.

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.

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.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 53 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Acadiana RgnlARA53 mi8,002 ft
Lafayette Rgnl/Paul Fournet FldLFT54 mi8,000 ft
Louis Armstrong New Orleans IntlMSY61 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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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 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 browse every source.

ZIP codes in Baton Rouge

5 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
7081645,718$67,35363
7080835,843$69,41859
7081531,024$59,25461
7080628,302$55,64258
7080925,732$79,96763