The suburbs of Baton Rouge call to all types of people looking to escape city life. Some people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Baton Rouge to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: do the suburbs maintain a semblance of the larger-than-life appeal of their more famous neighbor?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Baton Rouge ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Baton Rouge area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Baton Rouge proper, although Central certainly tries.
Of course, not all suburbs of Baton Rouge are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones.
We examined the 15 biggest suburbs of Baton Rouge to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Louisiana lists, these ten places are a little too far downwind of Baton Rouge in terms of quality of life.
The 10 worst suburbs around Baton Rouge for 2023
Now don’t freak out.
What’s the worst suburb of Baton Rouge? Jackson ranks as the worst suburb of Baton Rouge for 2023 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Baton Rouge that need a pick-me-up. And remember, don’t blame the messenger.
Or, if you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in Louisiana check out the best places in Louisiana overall or the worst.
And remember, there are some good places to live around Baton Rouge too.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
For more Louisiana reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Louisiana
- Cheapest Places To Live In Louisiana
- Most Dangerous Places In Louisiana
The 10 Worst Baton Rouge Suburbs To Live For 2023
/10
Population: 4,662
Median Income: $40,128 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 16.0% (3rd highest)
Median Home Value: $112,700 (2nd lowest)
More on Jackson:
We’ll get the ball rolling with Jackson, the absolute worst place to live around Baton Rouge according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Jackson beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 3rd worst in the Baton Rouge area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 2nd worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Jackson.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
/10
Population: 2,258
Median Income: $20,288 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 21.9% (highest)
Median Home Value: $90,000 (lowest)
More on White Castle:
Welcome to White Castle. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 19.8 miles to Baton Rouge. Income levels here are the 2nd lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $20,288 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
/10
Population: 7,046
Median Income: $53,045 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.1% (7th highest)
Median Home Value: $184,500 (11th lowest)
More on St. Gabriel:
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Baton Rouge suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see St. Gabriel on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Baton Rouge suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
/10
Population: 6,834
Median Income: $20,052 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 15.4% (4th highest)
Median Home Value: $149,700 (6th lowest)
More on Donaldsonville:
If you live in Donaldsonville, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the lowest Baton Rouge suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 4th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Baton Rouge. Remember, we looked at 15 cities for this study.
Donaldsonville is about 25.7 miles to downtown.
/10
Population: 4,516
Median Income: $42,887 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.7% (10th highest)
Median Home Value: $139,200 (5th lowest)
More on New Roads:
New Roads has the distinction of being a Baton Rouge suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, New Roads has the 5th lowest home values in the metro Baton Rouge area, where the median price is $139,200. The median income is $90,577.
New Roads has an unemployment rate of 6.65% which ranks 10th worst.
/10
Population: 12,736
Median Income: $55,371 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.7% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $127,900 (3rd lowest)
More on Baker:
Baker has 12,736 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 14.910127484361393%.
/10
Population: 4,989
Median Income: $56,280 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 7.0% (8th highest)
Median Home Value: $135,600 (4th lowest)
More on Port Allen:
Ah, Port Allen. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Baton Rouge.
It’s the place with the 8th most out of work residents in the Baton Rouge metro area (6.99%).
/10
Population: 6,187
Median Income: $58,810 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.0% (6th highest)
Median Home Value: $159,700 (7th lowest)
More on Plaquemine:
Plaquemine is a city about 13.4 miles from Baton Rouge, but Baton Rouge probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb for 2018.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Plaquemine has the 14th most uninsured people, 8th worst incomes, and has the 6th highest unemployment rate (8.02%) in the entire Baton Rouge metro area.
Homes only cost $159,700 for a reason. That’s cheap for Baton Rouge standards.
/10
Population: 12,080
Median Income: $59,108 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.4% (11th highest)
Median Home Value: $169,900 (9th lowest)
More on Gonzales:
If you absolutely have to live near Baton Rouge, then Gonzales might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Baton Rouge suburb.
About 6.36% of residents are out of work.
/10
Population: 6,322
Median Income: $80,521 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.9% (12th highest)
Median Home Value: $170,200 (10th lowest)
More on Walker:
Rounding out the ten worst Baton Rouge suburbs to call home is Walker.
Located 15.6 miles outside the city, Walkers is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 12th highest unemployment rate (5.89%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Baton Rouge for 2023
To figure out how bad a Baton Rouge suburb is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
It’s Saturday Night Science.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2017-2021, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Baton Rouge.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 15 suburbs to evaluate around Baton Rouge.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 15 in each category, where 1 was the “worst.”
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Baton Rouge.” We’re looking at you, Jackson.
We updated this article for 2023, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Baton Rouge.
Summary: The areas around Baton Rouge where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2023
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Baton Rouge with Jackson casting itself ahead of the pack.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Baton Rouge aren’t all bad. Central takes the cake as the best place to live around Baton Rouge.
- Central
- Zachary
- Brusly
For more Louisiana reading, check out:
- Best Places To Retire In Louisiana
- Richest Cities In Louisiana
- Safest Places In Louisiana
- Worst Places To Live In Louisiana
Detailed List Of The Worst Baton Rouge Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackson | 4,662 |
| 2 | White Castle | 2,258 |
| 3 | St. Gabriel | 7,046 |
| 4 | Donaldsonville | 6,834 |
| 5 | New Roads | 4,516 |
| 6 | Baker | 12,736 |
| 7 | Port Allen | 4,989 |
| 8 | Plaquemine | 6,187 |
| 9 | Gonzales | 12,080 |
| 10 | Walker | 6,322 |
| 11 | Denham Springs | 9,389 |
| 12 | Addis | 6,503 |
| 13 | Brusly | 2,604 |
| 14 | Zachary | 19,278 |
| 15 | Central | 29,746 |