Living in Baton Rouge, LA

Safety is something you'll want to plan around in Baton Rouge. The violent crime index is 168, well above the national average of 100, and property crime sits at 165. This doesn't mean every part of the city is risky — many neighborhoods have strong community watch programs and low incident rates. But you absolutely need to research specific areas, invest in good locks and security, and be deliberate about where you choose to live. Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report.

Most households manage fine. Median rent in Baton Rouge is $1,044/month, and the typical household pulls in $49,944/year — a 25.1% rent-to-income ratio. That's under the 30% threshold where housing costs start to pinch, though not by a huge margin. If you're a single earner or have significant debt payments, run your own numbers carefully. For dual-income households, the math works out comfortably. Census ACS 2023.

The average worker in Baton Rouge spends about 20 minutes getting to the office. Driving solo is the default (75.0%), with 7.1% working remotely and 1.5% on public transit. It's a fairly typical commute — not a selling point, not a dealbreaker.

Baton Rouge faces a moderate level of climate risk — score of 46/100. The top threats are Flood, Hurricane, and Heat Wave. None of these hit every year, but they're real possibilities that affect insurance rates and emergency planning. Make sure your policy covers the relevant perils, keep a basic emergency kit, and know your evacuation routes if you're in a flood-prone area. FEMA and NOAA data.

About what you'd expect anywhere. The average monthly utility bill in Baton Rouge runs around $231 for electricity, gas, water, and sewer combined. The national average is $230, so you're right in line. Your actual bill depends on home size, insulation quality, and how much you run the AC or heater — but no surprises here.

Good, overall. The median AQI sits at 46, which falls within the EPA's "Good" category, and Baton Rouge logs 252 clean-air days annually. Ozone is the main pollutant. Occasional spikes happen — wildfire smoke, temperature inversions, or high-ozone days — but they're the exception, not the rule. Check AirNow.gov during allergy season or summer heat waves.

Mostly, yes. The system scores 72/100, with 0 health-based violations on record and a "medium" lead risk rating. That's a solid track record. Most residents drink tap water without issues. If you're in an older building with pre-1986 plumbing, a basic filter is a cheap precaution. For detailed contaminant info, check EWG's Tap Water Database.

Everything on this page is built from public government sources: rent and income figures from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS 5-Year Estimates, 2023); commute and transportation data from Census ACS tables B08303 and B08006; crime rates from the FBI Uniform Crime Report; climate risk assessments using FEMA disaster declarations and NOAA storm records; air quality measurements from the EPA's Air Quality System database; water quality compliance data from EPA records and the EWG Tap Water Database; utility cost estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. We refresh each dataset monthly through an automated pipeline and cross-check for anomalies. No surveys, no user-submitted guesses — just official federal data presented in a way that's actually useful for people researching a move.