Best Places for Business and Careers 2019

Baton Rouge, LA

Baton Rouge, LA
the place image

Baton Rouge, LA

Baton Rouge, LA
gross metro product
$53.9B
population
831.3K
median household income
$58,376
median home price
$217,000
cost of living
1% below nat'l avg
college attainment
27.8%
net migration
-700 (year: 2018)
unemployment
4.2%
major industries
Education, Energy, Transportation
job growth
0.8% (year: 2018)
As of October 2019
The Baton Rouge area, also known as the "Capital Area," is the middle ground of South Louisiana cultures, having a mix of Cajun and Creole Catholics and Baptists of the Florida Parishes and South Mississippi. Baton Rouge is a college city with Baton Rouge Community College, Louisiana State University, Our Lady of the Lake College and Southern University students contributing a large part of the population. The biggest event of the year is Mardi Gras. Every year Baton Rouge hosts many Mardi Gras parades, the largest one
being held in historic Spanish Town. Other festivals include FestforAll, Louisiana Earth Day, Pennington Balloon Festival, the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Red Stick International Animation Festival.
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On forbes lists
#36
In Cost of Doing Business
#132
In Job Growth
#136
In Education
By The Numbers
EmploymentHousingEducationQuality of Life
Job Growth
0.8% (year: 2018)
Projected Annual Job Growth
0.2%
Unemployment
4.2%
Median Household Income
$58,376
Household Income Growth
2.7%
High-Tech Employment
0.9%
  • Data is for the metro area
  • Sources: Moody's Analytics; Sperling's BestPlaces; U.S. Census.
  • Numbers as of October 2019


  • a - Value of 100 means that a family with the median income has exactly enough income to qualify for a typical mortgage on a median-priced single-family home. An index above 100 signifies that the family has surplus income.
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