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Towns / Louisiana

Baker, Louisiana

Baker is a suburb of about 12,100 people in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, in the Baton Rouge area. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, New Orleans, is about 82 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Baton Rouge

Population
12,136
down 2.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$157,900
East Baton Rouge Parish prices up 5.9% since 2022
Household income
$54,750
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Baton Rouge area
90.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Zachary, LA
To New Orleans
82 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 9.2% below the U.S. average in the Baton Rouge metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood48 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town9 public schools: 7 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byLane Regional Medical Center in Zachary, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 82 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Baker meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Baker runs into the built-up area around Baton Rouge (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$157,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 5.9%East Baton Rouge Parish, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$993 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$54,750U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$703 a yearLouisiana: $1,180
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
90.8U.S. average = 100 (the Baton Rouge metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 5.9% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Baton Rouge metro area, not Baker alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
12,1362020: 12,454
Median age
33.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
21%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (22%); retail (16%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate
17%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
30%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Lane Regional Medical Center, Zachary, LA, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

9 public schools in Baker, run by City of Baker School District and East Baton Rouge Parish.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Louisiana's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
74%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
92%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
42°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
96 a year
Nights at or below freezing
18 a year
Rain and melted snow
65.5 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
81 feet

Weather stations: Baton Rouge Ryan Ap (3 miles away) and Baker (1 mile away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Lane Regional Medical Center, St. George, New Orleans.

East Baton Rouge Parish is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about Baker's history on Wikipedia.

Know Baker?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Slaughter, LA975 people, 10 miles
  • Watson, LA (unincorporated)1,357 people, 12 miles
  • Erwinville, LA (unincorporated)2,420 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.