Overall
90.8
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Baton Rouge, LA
Cost-of-living indicators for Baton Rouge, LA, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 90.8
- Overall RPP
- #276
- of 387 metros
- 74.2
- Rents RPP
- $110K
- $100K national buys
Baton Rouge ranks #276 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 2.4 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Rochester
The verdict
Baton Rouge costs less than 71% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 90.8, 9.2% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 71.2.
- bottom 29%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 93.7
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 71.2
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $110,156 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $90,780.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$90,780
in Baton Rouge, LA purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$45,390
$75,000 nationally
$68,085
$125,000 nationally
$113,475
$150,000 nationally
$136,170
$200,000 nationally
$181,560
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
C
59/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability C
59th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Service-cost relief profile
How Baton Rouge's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Baton Rouge: their index is 71.2, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 90.8 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Twin Falls, ID *, Oklahoma City, OK, Clarksville, TN-KY. They resemble Baton Rouge across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Baton Rouge's overall index has fallen by 2.4 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Baton Rouge vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
91 Bottom 29% higher than 29% 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 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Baton Rouge cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
74.2 RPP
- Services
Services
71.2 RPP
- Overall
Overall
90.8 RPP
- Goods
Goods
93.7 RPP
What this shows Baton Rouge's strongest departure is services at 71.2; rents follows at 74.2. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Baton Rouge's cost comes from
Metros near Baton Rouge's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Baton Rouge (Baton Rouge, this metro): goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 74.2
- Rochester: goods RPP 95.4, rents RPP 78.6
- Fargo: goods RPP 95.7, rents RPP 81.1
- Saginaw: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 63.6
- Sioux Falls: goods RPP 95.5, rents RPP 77.6
- Clarksville: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 73.8
- Erie: goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 56.8
Price Index Summary
Goods
93.7
Below avg
Services
71.2
Cheap
Rents
74.2
Cheap
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Baton Rouge's overall RPP fell -0.5 points, from 91.2 in 2023 to 90.8 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 76.5 to 71.2. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending downward, decreasing by 2.4 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2017, when the index dropped 1.7 points from the year before.
Baton Rouge overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 93.1 |
| 2009 | 91.8 |
| 2010 | 93.4 |
| 2011 | 94.6 |
| 2012 | 94.2 |
| 2013 | 94.9 |
| 2014 | 94.7 |
| 2015 | 94.7 |
| 2016 | 95.6 |
| 2017 | 93.9 |
| 2018 | 92.8 |
| 2019 | 92.8 |
| 2020 | 93.1 |
| 2021 | 93.2 |
| 2022 | 92.4 |
| 2023 | 91.2 |
| 2024 | 90.8 |
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Baton Rouge, LA's index of 90.8.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
LA-relative analysis
Goods prices places Baton Rouge, LA near the bottom of LA's metros
Among the 10 LA metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Baton Rouge, LA ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Baton Rouge, LA only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 10
0th percentile in LA
Services prices
#8 of 10
20th percentile in LA
Rent prices
#3 of 10
70th percentile in LA
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within LA only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Baton Rouge, LA: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (90.8 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (74.2 here).
Other LA Metros
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA 92.7 New Orleans-Metairie, LA 92.6 Lafayette, LA 87.2 Lake Charles, LA 85.9 Alexandria, LA 85.7 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA 85.1
View all LA metros → Cheapest in LA → Most expensive in LA →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Baton Rouge's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Twin Falls, ID *
Goods 96.2 · Services 70.0 · Rents 73.8 Oklahoma City, OK
Goods 93.8 · Services 74.1 · Rents 73.9 Clarksville, TN-KY
Goods 96.2 · Services 72.5 · Rents 73.8 Lewiston, ID-WA
Goods 96.2 · Services 72.6 · Rents 71.9 Billings, MT
Goods 96.0 · Services 72.4 · Rents 77.4 Chattanooga, TN-GA
Goods 96.0 · Services 74.2 · Rents 76.5
Compare to Other Metros
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Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
What this means for Baton Rouge
How to read Baton Rouge's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $110,156 in Baton Rouge. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 71.2, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Baton Rouge head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Baton Rouge, LA?
Baton Rouge, LA has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 90.8, meaning it is 9.2% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 93.7, services at 71.2, and rents at 74.2. It ranks #276 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Baton Rouge, LA to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $90,780 in Baton Rouge, LA. Conversely, $100K earned in Baton Rouge, LA has the purchasing power of $110,156 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Baton Rouge, LA?
Rents in Baton Rouge, LA are indexed at 74.2, which is 25.8% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Baton Rouge, LA getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Baton Rouge, LA's overall cost index changed by -2.4 points (from 93.1 to 90.8). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Baton Rouge, LA?
The priciest category in Baton Rouge, LA is goods at 93.7, 6.3% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 71.2, 28.8% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Baton Rouge, LA?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Rochester, Fargo, Saginaw. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Baton Rouge, LA's 90.8.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.