While big cities like Baton Rouge offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Baton Rouge. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Baton Rouge without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Baton Rouge are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Baton Rouge area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Baton Rouge for 2024:
What’s the best suburb of Baton Rouge? Addis ranks as the best suburb of Baton Rouge for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Addis, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Baton Rouge ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Louisiana:
The 10 Best Baton Rouge Suburbs To Live For 2024
/10
Population: 6,779
Median Income: $101,450
Unemployment Rate: 1.8%
Poverty Rate: 7.3%
More on Addis: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Addis is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Baton Rouge area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Addis.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $101,450 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Baton Rouge region. And only 1.84% are out of work. Homes average more than $258,024 each.
2. Brusly, LA
/10
Population: 2,585
Median Income: $105,363
Unemployment Rate: 18.5%
Poverty Rate: 8.9%
More on Brusly: Crime | Real Estate
Brusly is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Baton Rouge for 2024.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 2.82% of residents lack insurance, good for best.
/10
Population: 29,518
Median Income: $82,714
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%
Poverty Rate: 4.4%
More on Central: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Here in Central, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Baton Rouge metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Central.
/10
Population: 19,401
Median Income: $88,811
Unemployment Rate: 5.9%
Poverty Rate: 7.5%
More on Zachary: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Zachary ranks as the 4th best suburb of Baton Rouge for 2024.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Zachary and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 9,393
Median Income: $85,625
Unemployment Rate: 7.4%
Poverty Rate: 5.8%
More on Denham Springs: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Coming in as the fifth best is Denham Springs.
Denham Springs gets kudos for having the 7th most expensive homes in the Baton Rouge area, where houses sell for an average of $240,723. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
The schools around here are so bad. I had a health teacher tell me that men can’t get breast cancer. The college my mom goes to is awful too.
I heard that Louisiana has by far the highest murder rate than any other state and that is it is the prison capital of the entire world. It is the most corrupt state.
/10
Population: 6,359
Median Income: $86,446
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 11.0%
More on Walker: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Walker is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 3.32%.
According to online reports, Walker is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Baton Rouge area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 6,218
Median Income: $69,183
Unemployment Rate: 6.2%
Poverty Rate: 14.5%
More on Plaquemine: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Plaquemine.
Plaquemine schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 13.4 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 12,356
Median Income: $66,310
Unemployment Rate: 8.9%
Poverty Rate: 11.5%
More on Gonzales: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Gonzales is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 9.04% of people lack insurance, good for 9th in the area.
9. Livingston, LA
/10
Population: 2,008
Median Income: $70,156
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 9.4%
More on Livingston: Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In Livingston?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
/10
And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Port Allen.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Baton Rouge for 2024
Figuring out the best suburbs around Baton Rouge was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Baton Rouge.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 16 suburbs to evaluate around Baton Rouge.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 16 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Baton Rouge.” We’re lookin’ at you, Addis.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Baton Rouge suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Baton Rouge ‘Burbs of 2024
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Baton Rouge are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Baton Rouge but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more Louisiana reading, check out:
Table: Best Baton Rouge Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Addis, LA | 6,779 | $101,450 | $258,024 |
| 2 | Brusly, LA | 2,585 | $105,363 | $267,203 |
| 3 | Central, LA | 29,518 | $82,714 | $266,955 |
| 4 | Zachary, LA | 19,401 | $88,811 | $261,425 |
| 5 | Denham Springs, LA | 9,393 | $85,625 | $240,723 |
| 6 | Walker, LA | 6,359 | $86,446 | $236,329 |
| 7 | Plaquemine, LA | 6,218 | $69,183 | $157,817 |
| 8 | Gonzales, LA | 12,356 | $66,310 | $268,157 |
| 9 | Livingston, LA | 2,008 | $70,156 | $228,382 |
| 10 | Port Allen, LA | 4,956 | $53,706 | $202,420 |
| 11 | Baker, LA | 12,463 | $60,555 | $173,779 |
| 12 | St. Gabriel, LA | 6,526 | $55,735 | $258,502 |
| 13 | New Roads, LA | 4,508 | $47,792 | $155,810 |
| 14 | Donaldsonville, LA | 6,799 | $22,110 | $156,759 |
| 15 | Jackson, LA | 4,600 | $40,642 | $186,804 |
| 16 | White Castle, LA | 2,394 | $22,574 | $120,486 |