AreaProfile

70820Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 70820.

56
Area Score
Bottom 29% of 3,833 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity2214th of 4,073 published ZIP areas53
GrowthTop 37% of 3,947 published ZIP areas58
Housing affordability3917th of 4,553 published ZIP areas48
ClimateTop 28% of 4,621 published ZIP areas77
Physical resilience2777th of 4,554 published ZIP areas47
Access4057th of 4,623 published ZIP areas74
Economic stability3892nd of 4,591 published ZIP areas38
The quick read

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

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles, with rent taking 28% of median household income.

Its Area Score of 56 places 70820 in the top 71% of published ZIP profiles.

At a glance

Population
23,377
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$47,429
Bottom 12% nationally
Density
1,136/sq mi
20.6 sq mi of land
Median age
23.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Baton Rouge
Louisiana
Metro area
Baton Rouge, LA
Nearest major airport
ARA
47 mi · Acadiana Rgnl
Median home value
$286,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.3% is lower than 20% of the 4,387 measured US ZIP areas.

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

52% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 89% of measured US ZIP areas.

Median household income of $47,429 is below 88% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$5,711$47,429Bottom 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,985$31,547Bottom 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate36.8%Top 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute25.9 minBottom 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher51.7%Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment103,327Top 25%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)2.7%Top 19%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)2.0%Top 5%June 2026
Labor force109,106Top 25%June 2026
Labor force participation70.4%Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$61,230Bottom 25%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$48,710Bottom 35%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.2%Bottom 37%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.3%Top 20%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202448k33k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $47,429 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Baton Rouge, LA, the city containing this ZIP code.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,122 takes 28% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 6.0 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
28.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
6.0×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,122
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$286,600
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income6.04Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate34.0%Bottom 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±76512,517Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$81$1,122Top 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$23,531$286,600Top 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income28.4%Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate21.4%Top 24%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
58/ 100
Top 37% of 3,947 published city profiles

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.

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 ZIP areas.

Units permitted
1,479
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.6
Top 21% nationally
Year over year
−23%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
62.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Baton Rouge, LA, the city containing this ZIP code.

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, 12.3 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. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. 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 47 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Acadiana RgnlARA47 mi8,002 ft
Lafayette Rgnl/Paul Fournet FldLFT48 mi8,000 ft
Louis Armstrong New Orleans IntlMSY62 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
56
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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.

70820 vs Baton Rouge

How this ZIP area compares with Baton Rouge as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

70820
Baton Rouge
Median household income
$47,429
vs
$49,994
Per capita income
$31,547
vs
$34,731
Population density
1,136/sq mi
vs
2,562/sq mi
Median home value
$286,600
vs
$234,700
Median gross rent
$1,122
vs
$1,067
Homeownership rate
34.0%
vs
47.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher
51.7%
vs
36.6%
Poverty rate
36.8%
vs
25.7%
Median age
23.6
vs
31.5

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.