PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Baton Rouge, LA

53.2
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#153
of 387 metros
60%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Baton Rouge ranks #153 of 387 US metros, ahead of 60% - carried by its schools (89/100) and held back most by environment (7/100).

89
strongest: Schools
86
then: Childcare
7
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Baton Rouge sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

53 60th percentile higher than 60% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). This entry sits in this band. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Baton Rouge Life Score

Baton Rouge's composite score of 53.2 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #153 of 387, ahead of 60% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Schools (89/100) and Childcare (86/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (7/100) and Safety (28/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 16.8:1 ratio, 11.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,396/yr. EPA: 29 Superfund sites (LA). Ranks #150-#156 below.

Dimension detail

How Baton Rouge scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 71/100 (20%)
Wages 36/100 (20%)
Rent 63/100 (15%)
Safety 28/100 (15%)
Schools 89/100 (10%)
Childcare 86/100 (10%)
Environment 7/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

90.8
Cost Index (RPP)
$61,934
Avg Median Salary
$1,204
2BR Fair Market Rent
410
Violent Crime/100K (LA)
16.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,396
Infant Childcare/yr (LA)
29
Superfund Sites (LA)
395,730
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Baton Rouge With...

Baton Rouge vs Monroe Compare → Baton Rouge vs Shreveport Compare → Baton Rouge vs Lafayette Compare → Baton Rouge vs Wildwood Compare → Baton Rouge vs Waterloo Compare → Baton Rouge vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Baton Rouge outranks 60% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#150 Auburn-Opelika, AL 53.3 B
#151 Eagle Pass, TX 53.4 B
#152 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI 53.5 B
#153 Baton Rouge, LA 53.2 B
#154 Eau Claire, WI 52.9 B
#155 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 52.9 B
#156 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 52.8 B

LA Metro Scores

Monroe, LA A 63.5 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA A 62.9 Lafayette, LA A- 61.2 New Orleans-Metairie, LA B+ 58.7 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA B+ 58.6 Hammond, LA B+ 57.8

Using Baton Rouge's Life Score

Baton Rouge is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is schools (89/100) and its weakest is environment (7/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Baton Rouge head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Baton Rouge lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Baton Rouge's biggest strengths? ▼
Baton Rouge's strongest dimensions are Schools (89/100), Childcare (86/100), Cost of Living (71/100). Schools is top-tier nationally.
What are Baton Rouge's weakest areas? ▼
Baton Rouge's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (7/100), Safety (28/100), Wages (36/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Baton Rouge compared to the national average? ▼
Baton Rouge's Regional Price Parity is 90.8 (9.2% less than national); rent RPP 74.2.
What is the average salary in Baton Rouge? ▼
Baton Rouge median salary: $61,934, 395,730 jobs. Top: Cashiers, Retail Salespersons, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Baton Rouge's 53.2/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.