Should I Move To
Baton Rouge, Louisiana comes in at about 225,500 residents. Cost of living comes out very affordable — 15% below the national average. Rent typically lands near $1,010/mo, and the median household income is about $50,155. Overall, 45/100 on our composite score, which works out to a D, putting it at #668 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
Cost-of-living index of 85 (with 100 as the US baseline) — that's very affordable territory. With median rent at $1,010/mo and median household income at $50,155, housing takes about 24% of gross income — right inside the standard 30%-of-income guideline. Homes typically value around $217,700.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →Expect four-season weather — summers near 92°F, winters around 43°F. Rain (and snow, in some seasons) totals about 62 inches annually. Walking covers most daily life if you live in a central neighborhood; a car is helpful for longer trips but not essential. Crime runs notably high by national standards. As always, neighborhood-level data tells a more nuanced story than the citywide figure. AQI runs about 48 — a "good" reading.
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
Baton Rouge is a tougher sell for families. The profile-weighted score is 53/100 — a C-. Its standout dimension is affordability (90/100); the soft spot is safety (2/100).
On the retirees profile, Baton Rouge sits squarely in the middle. The profile-weighted score is 58/100 — a C. Its standout dimension is affordability (90/100); the soft spot is safety (2/100).
On the remote workers profile, Baton Rouge sits squarely in the middle. The profile-weighted score is 61/100 — a C+. Its standout dimension is affordability (90/100); the soft spot is safety (2/100).
Baton Rouge is a tougher sell for young professionals. The profile-weighted score is 50/100 — a D. Its standout dimension is affordability (90/100); the soft spot is safety (2/100).
Our overall score for Baton Rouge is 45/100 — a D, sitting at #668 in the national ranking. It's a weighted average across the seven UrbRank dimensions.
By the composite index, Baton Rouge sits at 85 — very affordable, 15% below the national average. Median renter pays around $1,010 a month.
Baton Rouge runs four-season on the weather. Summer's near 92°F, winter's near 43°F; 62 inches of precipitation annually.
Walk Score: 77/100. Walking covers most daily life if you live in a central neighborhood; a car is helpful for longer trips but not essential.
Roughly 225,500 people live here, with 36% college-educated (bachelor's or higher) among adults 25+ with a median age of 32.
Drop Baton Rouge into the comparison tool with any other US city and you'll get housing costs, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life data lined up side by side. Profile-specific leaderboards (families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals) are linked from the navigation.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Baton Rouge with other Louisiana cities scored on UrbRank.
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