State
County
Land Area
86.4 sq mi
Density
2,525.0/sq mi
2020 Growth Rate
-0.89%
Growth Since 2010
-4.89%
Rank in State
Rank in Country
Metro Population
855,242
Baton Rouge is a city located in Louisiana. With a 2020 population of 218,282, it is the 2nd largest city in Louisiana (after New Orleans) and the 101st largest city in the United States. Baton Rouge is currently declining at a rate of -0.89% annually and its population has decreased by -4.89% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 229,493 in 2010. Baton Rouge reached it's highest population of 229,374 in 2010. Spanning over 89 miles, Baton Rouge has a population density of 2,525 people per square mile.
The average household income in Baton Rouge is $70,902 with a poverty rate of 24.75%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $879 per month, and the median house value is $174,000. The median age in Baton Rouge is 31.5 years, 29.7 years for males, and 33.4 years for females. For every 100 females there are 91.9 males.
Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana and located in East Baton Rouge Parish along the Mississippi River. The city is a large research, medical, technology and industrial center of the South. Baton Rouge is located 157 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico and 80 miles out of New Orleans.
It's very common to hear a French accent in Baton Rouge today, with more than one-third of the population of Louisiana having French ancestry. Interestingly, Baton Rouge did not develop ethnic neighborhoods like most developing cities but instead settlement based on wealth. This led Asians, Cajuns, Italians, and other Europeans to live side-by-side, although the black community was the exception.
Over the last 50 years, there has been a great deal of migration of black people from the rural areas to the urban area of Baton Rouge. In 1960, the city was only 30% black.
Baton Rouge has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the South with a population that exploded briefly after Hurricane Katrina when it accepted about 200,000 displaced residents. It is still one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country among areas with a population under one million. Last year, the city was ranked number one in the country for economic growth.
The city is now experiencing stagnant population growth while the suburbs are proliferating. In 2013, the city's population was 229,400, about 580 less than the previous year and 0.03% down from 2010.
The area of Baton Rouge has been inhabited since at least 8000 BC, with mounds built by hunter-gatherers that are more than 1,000 years older than the pyramids of Egypt.
The history of modern-day Baton Rouge goes back to 1699 when a French explorer named Sieur d'Iberville led an expedition party up the Mississippi River and found a red-colored cypress pole with bloody animals marking the boundary between tribal hunting grounds. This pole and the area were called le baton rouge, or the red stick. In 1719, Baton Rouge was established as a French military outpost.
The French lost Baton Rouge to the British under the Treaty of Paris in 1736 but maintained a fort through 1779. It was then that the Spanish governor in New Orleans sent an army to the city and captured it from the British. It then stayed under Spanish rule until 1810 when residents -- primarily Anglo-Americans -- took the city and proclaimed the Republic of West Florida. Baton Rouge was an independent republic for 74 days until the Americans in New Orleans raised the American flag.
Baton Rouge was incorporated in 1817 and became the capital of the state in 1849. By the end of the Civil War, it had a population of 5,500, which grew to more than 10,000 by 1893.
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Baton Rouge was:
2019 and 2020 population is estimated by projecting the raw 2018 numbers.
Year | Total Population | Growth | Annual Growth Rate |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | 855,242 | 358 | 0.04% |
2019 | 854,884 | 358 | 0.04% |
2018 | 854,526 | 231 | 0.03% |
2017 | 854,295 | -2,428 | -0.28% |
2016 | 856,723 | 5,556 | 0.65% |
2015 | 851,167 | 4,340 | 0.51% |
2014 | 846,827 | 4,841 | 0.57% |
2013 | 841,986 | 5,789 | 0.69% |
2012 | 836,197 | 4,704 | 0.56% |
2011 | 831,493 | 3,864 | 0.46% |
2010 | 827,629 | 0.00% |
Race | Population | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Black or African American | 122,516 | 54.66% |
White | 86,706 | 38.68% |
Asian | 7,825 | 3.49% |
Some Other Race | 3,340 | 1.49% |
Two or More Races | 2,990 | 1.33% |
American Indian and Alaska Native | 622 | 0.28% |
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 150 | 0.07% |
Type | Count | Average Size | Owned |
---|---|---|---|
All | 83,733 | 2.58 | 49.8 |
Non Family | 38,606 | 1.39 | 37.9 |
Married | 25,248 | 3.33 | 77 |
Female | 15,701 | 4.02 | 36.8 |
Male | 4,178 | 3.56 | 44.5 |
3.5
Average Family Size
2.58
Average Household Size
Education Attained | Count | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Less Than 9th Grade | 5,006 | 3.68% |
9th to 12th Grade | 11,385 | 8.36% |
High School Graduate | 37,786 | 27.76% |
Some College | 30,622 | 22.50% |
Associates Degree | 6,109 | 4.49% |
Bachelors Degree | 26,249 | 19.28% |
Graduate Degree | 18,965 | 13.93% |
Name | Total | High School | Bachelors |
---|---|---|---|
Black | 70,625 | 58,076 | 11,216 |
White | 54,579 | 52,715 | 29,627 |
Asian | 4,885 | 4,107 | 2,674 |
Hispanic | 4,299 | 3,179 | 933 |
Other Race | 1,759 | 1,046 | 168 |
Multiple Races | 1,338 | 1,281 | 677 |
Native American | 464 | 311 | 37 |
Islander | 18 | 18 |
The highest rate of high school graduation is among islander people with a rate of 100.00%.
The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among asian people with a rate of 54.74%.
$34,031
Average Earnings
$42,159
Average Male
$28,818
Average Female
91.50% of Baton Rouge residents speak only English, while 8.50% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 3.45% of the population.
Name | Total | In Poverty | Poverty Rate |
---|---|---|---|
Black | 119,218 | 37,129 | 31.14% |
White | 78,245 | 12,317 | 15.74% |
Hispanic | 7,773 | 2,253 | 28.98% |
Other | 3,294 | 1,350 | 40.98% |
Asian | 7,721 | 1,285 | 16.64% |
Multiple | 2,848 | 466 | 16.36% |
Native | 622 | 159 | 25.56% |
Islander | 150 | 18 | 12.00% |
24.75%
Overall Poverty Rate
23.46%
Male Poverty Rate
25.95%
Female Poverty Rate
The race most likely to be in poverty in Baton Rouge is Other, with 40.98% below the poverty level.
The race least likely to be in poverty in Baton Rouge is Islander, with 12.00% below the poverty level.
The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 5.52%. Among those working part-time, it was 31.02%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 34.22%.
30.4%
Overall Marriage Rate
32.6%
Male Marriage Rate
28.5%
Female Marriage Rate
The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45-54.
Name | Veterans | % of Total |
---|---|---|
Black | 4,708 | 5.30% |
White | 4,548 | 6.04% |
Hispanic | 228 | 4.03% |
Asian | 221 | 3.26% |
2 or More | 82 | 4.05% |
Other | 67 | 3.38% |
Indian | 22 | 4.27% |
12.64%
Veteran Poverty Rate
27.86%
Veteran Disability Rate
64.1%
Labor Force Participation
58.7%
Employment Rate
8.4%
Unemployment Rate
Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.
94.50%
Native Born
5.50%
Foreign Born
3.45%
Non Citizen
2.04%
Naturalized
94.50% of Baton Rouge residents were born in the United States, with 77.20% having been born in Louisiana. 3.45% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Asia.
Year | Population | Growth | Annual Growth Rate |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | 218,282 | -1,954 | -0.89% |
2019 | 220,236 | -1,954 | -0.88% |
2018 | 222,190 | -2,224 | -0.99% |
2017 | 224,414 | -2,272 | -1.00% |
2016 | 226,686 | -516 | -0.23% |
2015 | 227,202 | -649 | -0.28% |
2014 | 227,851 | -495 | -0.22% |
2013 | 228,346 | -543 | -0.24% |
2012 | 228,889 | 246 | 0.11% |
2011 | 228,643 | -731 | -0.32% |
2010 | 229,374 | 1,556 | 0.07% |
2000 | 227,818 | 8,287 | 0.37% |
1990 | 219,531 | -863 | -0.04% |
1980 | 220,394 | 54,473 | 2.88% |
1970 | 165,921 | 13,502 | 0.85% |
1960 | 152,419 | 26,790 | 1.95% |
1950 | 125,629 | 90,910 | 13.72% |
1940 | 34,719 | 3,990 | 1.23% |
1930 | 30,729 | 8,947 | 3.50% |
1920 | 21,782 | 6,885 | 3.87% |
1910 | 14,897 | 3,628 | 2.83% |
1900 | 11,269 | 791 | 0.73% |
1890 | 10,478 | 3,281 | 3.83% |
1880 | 7,197 | 699 | 1.03% |
1870 | 6,498 | 1,070 | 1.82% |
1860 | 5,428 | 1,523 | 3.35% |
1850 | 3,905 | 1,605 | 5.44% |
1840 | 2,300 | 0.00% |