Metro Life Score
Baton Rouge, LA
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade A-, 87th percentile of the national corpus.
- 60.2
- Life Score / 100
- A-
- Grade (curved)
- #49
- of 387 metros
- 87%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Baton Rouge is top-quartile composite Life Score — #49 of 387 (60.2/100, grade A-, 87th percentile). Carried by environment at 95/100; held back most by safety at 30/100.
- 87th
- composite percentile
- #49
- of 387 peers
- 71st
- cost dimension percentile
- 37th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · signature composite
Baton Rouge: top-third composite Life Score
Baton Rouge clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#49 of 387, 60.2/100, grade A-, 87th percentile). Stamps UPPER · ENVIRO-LED; cost CHEAP (71st) · wages LOW (37th). Environment at 95/100 carries the lead; Safety (30/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Baton Rouge, LA ranks #49 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #112 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 90.8 (rent-RPP 74.2). BLS median salary $61,934, 395,730 jobs (Cashiers, Retail Salespersons, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand). HUD 2BR FMR $1,204/mo (studio $1,032).
FBI UCR (LA): 410 violent, 1773 property/100K. NCES: 13.6:1 ratio, 11.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,396/yr. EPA: 29 Superfund sites (LA).
Where Baton Rouge sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
60 Top 13% higher than 87% of 387 US metros
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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 60.2 is built
Baton Rouge's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Baton Rouge scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are LA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Baton Rouge With...
Ranking Context
Baton Rouge outranks 87% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #46 | Grand Island, NE | 60.3 | A- |
| #47 | Lake Charles, LA | 60.6 | A- |
| #48 | Decatur, IL | 60.7 | A- |
| #49 | Baton Rouge, LA | 60.2 | A- |
| #50 | Eagle Pass, TX | 60.2 | A- |
| #51 | Beckley, WV | 60.1 | A- |
| #52 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 59.9 | A- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Baton Rouge, LA is top 13% highest-quality nationally but only top 29% most affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
LA Metro Scores
Read with Baton Rouge
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Baton Rouge (UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Eagle Pass, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 60.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Grand Island, NE
ABS(composite) peer at 60.3 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Beckley, WV
ABS(composite) peer at 60.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
ABS(composite) peer at 59.9 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Rochester, MN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 71/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Sioux Falls, SD-MN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 72/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Baton Rouge, LA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Baton Rouge's top-third Life Score
Baton Rouge scores 60.2/100 overall, but Environment (95.3) and Safety (30.3) sit 65.0 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Baton Rouge's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Safety is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Monroe is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Monroe
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.