What is the cost of living in Baton Rouge?

Baton Rouge has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 90.8, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 74.2, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,204/month.

What is the median salary in Baton Rouge?

The median salary in Baton Rouge is $61,934 annually (mean: $65,469). Top occupations include Cashiers, Retail Salespersons, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand.

How safe is Baton Rouge?

The violent crime rate in the Baton Rouge area is 410 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1773 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Baton Rouge?

The state of LA has 1,330 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 16.8:1. Charter schools make up 11.3% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Baton Rouge?

Infant center-based childcare in the Baton Rouge area averages $7,396 per year. Preschool averages $7,111/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Baton Rouge a good place to relocate?

Baton Rouge has a Life Score of 62/100 (C), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places Baton Rouge in the top decile of scored metros, a genuinely strong all-around profile.

Where does Baton Rouge sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Baton Rouge ranks #291 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Baton Rouge, LA

LiveAbility 44.1/100 places Baton Rouge #291 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

90.8
Cost index (US=100): $1,204
2BR rent / mo: $61,934
Median salary: 44.1
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Baton Rouge ranks #291 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (44.1/100), with its strongest marks in cost of living and climate.

#291
of 387 US metros · Below median: 4,597,740
metro-area population: 410
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,330
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: schools (11/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Baton Rouge ranks #291 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 90.8 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,204/mo, median salary $61,934; LiveAbility Score 44.1/100, strongest in cost of living and climate.

Signature: LiveAbility 44.1/100 places Baton Rouge #291 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 90.8 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,204/mo.

LiveAbility 44.1/100 puts Baton Rouge in the bottom third (#291 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Baton Rouge area is 395,730.

Baton Rouge vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

44 Top 75% higher than 25% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Baton Rouge housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Baton Rouge MSA; housing RPP 74.2 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,204/mo.

Studio

$1,032

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,064

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,204

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,511

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,943

/month

Baton Rouge wages and employment

Baton Rouge posts 395,730 total employment with median salary $61,934 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$61,934

Mean Salary

$65,469

Total Employment

395,730

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Cashiers	$27,110
Retail Salespersons	$30,070
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$36,450
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$23,650
Registered Nurses	$81,130

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Baton Rouge area from NCES.

Schools

1,330

Enrollment

674,456

Student:Teacher

16.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Baton Rouge area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,396

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,237

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,111

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Baton Rouge's composite Life Score is 62/100 (C), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

71/100

Strong

Wages

36/100

Below average

Rent

63/100

Above average

Crime

28/100

Weak

Schools

89/100

Elite

Childcare

86/100

Elite

Environment

95/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Baton Rouge ranks #291 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 44.1/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Cost of living (71/100)

Cost of living

71
Climate

68
Housing

63
Low hazard

50
Job market

36
Safety

28
Air quality

14
Schools

11

What this shows Baton Rouge's strongest dimensions are cost of living and climate; its weakest among scored dims is schools at 11/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Baton Rouge to

Grand Island Grand Junction Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood Grants Pass Great Falls Greeley

Metros near Baton Rouge on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Baton Rouge on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Baton Rouge cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Baton Rouge wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Baton Rouge?

Baton Rouge runs a $61,934 median salary at a 90.8 cost index, ranking #291 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Baton Rouge's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Baton Rouge head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Baton Rouge
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.