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Towns / Louisiana

St. Gabriel, Louisiana

St. Gabriel is a suburb of about 7,000 people in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, in the Baton Rouge area. It has grown about 9% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.2 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 71 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Baton Rouge

Population
6,987
up 8.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$239,200
Iberville Parish prices up 12% since 2022
Household income
$74,688
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Baton Rouge area
90.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Baton Rouge, LA
To New Orleans
71 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 3.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for St. Gabriel itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school: 1 K-12 and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byWomans Hospital in Baton Rouge, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 71 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 St. Gabriel 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

St. Gabriel 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
$239,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 12%Iberville Parish, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,017 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$74,688U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$2,189 a yearLouisiana: $1,180
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
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 12% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Baton Rouge metro area, not St. Gabriel 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
6,9872020: 6,438
Median age
36.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
8%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
12%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
27%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

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
Construction (27%); professional and business services (21%); schools, health care and social services (18%)
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
18%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Womans Hospital, Baton Rouge, LA, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

1 public school in St. Gabriel, run by Iberville 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 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
43°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
72 a year
Nights at or below freezing
10 a year
Rain and melted snow
63.4 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
18 feet

Weather stations: Carville 2 SW (4 miles away) and Donaldsonville 4 SW (13 miles 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: Womans Hospital, St. George, New Orleans.

Iberville 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

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about St. Gabriel's history on Wikipedia.

Know St. Gabriel?

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

  • Bayou Goula, LA (unincorporated)208 people, 5 miles
  • Dorseyville, LA (unincorporated)307 people, 6 miles
  • Crescent, LA (unincorporated)376 people, 11 miles
  • Darrow, LA (unincorporated)183 people, 12 miles
  • Lemannville, LA (unincorporated)841 people, 15 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.