What salary do you need to live in Baton Rouge, LA?

Rent, home values and prices in Baton Rouge

A one-bedroom in Baton Rouge rents for a median of $950 a month, utilities the tenant pays included; a two-bedroom goes for $1,112 and a three-bedroom for $1,316. Over a full year, the two-bedroom median comes to $13,344.

The median value of owner-occupied homes in the metro is $241,100. That is only 3.5× the area's median household income of $69,599, a low ratio by national standards.

BEA's Regional Price Parity for the metro is 90.8, where 100 is the US average. In plain terms, the full basket of goods, services and housing costs 9.2% less than average, so $100,000 here buys roughly what $110,156 would at average US prices.

Income needed for each grade in Baton Rouge

With a two-bedroom at the median rent, the score enters Tight at $29,000, Okay at $59,000 and Comfortable at $118,000 a year before tax. At the Comfortable line, a year of rent takes 11% of income and the median home is 2.0× income.

The Royal grade is within reach at $326,000 a year, where both rent and the median home price look small next to income.

How they were found: the same scoring function the calculator runs was evaluated at rising incomes until each cutoff was crossed, and the crossing rounded up to a whole $1,000.

Four salaries, three home sizes in Baton Rouge

Choosing a bigger place in Baton Rouge at $75,000 trims the score from 55 to 50 without leaving Okay.

Read down the two-bedroom column and the first Comfortable row is $150,000, consistent with the $118,000 line above.

Where Baton Rouge falls nationally

Out of 387 metros, Baton Rouge has the 276th highest price parity and the 207th highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it in the middle half on overall prices and in the middle half on rent.

Mankato, MN ($1,113) and Lubbock, TX ($1,112) bracket Baton Rouge on two-bedroom rent.

Baton Rouge vs. the rest of Louisiana

Compared with Louisiana as a whole, two-bedroom rent in Baton Rouge is 5% higher ($1,112 vs. $1,055) and the median home is 11% higher ($241,100 vs. $216,500).

Scored the same way, the statewide figures turn Comfortable at $103,000, so Baton Rouge needs $15,000 more than Louisiana overall.

If Baton Rouge is on your list, Lake Charles, LA, New Orleans-Metairie, LA, and Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA are the most similar Louisiana metros by two-bedroom rent and price level; the table shows where each turns Comfortable.

Baton Rouge's median income on the scale

The median household in the metro earns $69,599 (ACS 2020-2024). Run through the calculator with two bedrooms, that scores 50, Okay. The Comfortable line is 70% above what the median household makes. Statewide, the Louisiana median household ($60,756) grades Okay on the state's own medians. Since a household can have two or more earners, compare it with a combined income rather than one paycheck.

All figures are pre-tax estimates from public data, not financial advice.