More and more 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: what suburbs of Baton Rouge are the worst?
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 Addis certainly tries.
We examined the 16 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 places are a little too far downwind of Baton Rouge in terms of quality of life.
$18,750 median income · $131,093 median home price
We’ll get the ball rolling with White Castle, the absolute worst place to live around Baton Rouge according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, White Castle beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the Baton Rouge area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 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 White Castle.
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.
$37,844 median income · $204,287 median home price
Welcome to Jackson. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 27.1 miles to Baton Rouge. Income levels here are the 3rd lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $37,844 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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$74,688 median income · $263,882 median home price
Located in
Iberville Parish, Louisiana
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$23,618 median income · $164,852 median home price
Located in
Ascension Parish, Louisiana
If you live in Donaldsonville, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 2nd 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 16 cities for this study.
Donaldsonville is about 25.7 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$51,328 median income · $152,312 median home price
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 2nd lowest home values in the metro Baton Rouge area, where the median price is $152,312. The median income is $117,604.
New Roads has an unemployment rate of 10.0% which ranks 6th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$54,750 median income · $180,739 median home price
Located in
East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
Baker has 12,253 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 29.8%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$80,707 median income · $253,184 median home price
Located in
Livingston Parish, Louisiana
Ah, Walker. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Baton Rouge.
It’s the place with the 11th most out of work residents in the Baton Rouge metro area (6.8%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$59,474 median income · $213,735 median home price
Port Allen is a city about 4.9 miles from Baton Rouge, but Baton Rouge probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Port Allen has the 7th most uninsured people, 6th worst incomes, and has the 12th highest unemployment rate (6.2%) in the entire Baton Rouge metro area.
Homes only cost $213,735 for a reason. That’s cheap for Baton Rouge standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$75,451 median income · $288,155 median home price
Located in
Ascension Parish, Louisiana
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 7.9% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$69,366 median income · $159,906 median home price
Located in
Iberville Parish, Louisiana
Rounding out the ten worst Baton Rouge suburbs to call home is Plaquemine.
Located 13.4 miles outside the city, Plaquemine is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 13th highest unemployment rate (3.8%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Louisiana’s statewide median.
Louisiana statewide median: $60,756
Louisiana statewide median: $211,635
Louisiana statewide median: 6.3%
Louisiana statewide median: 18.9%
On the map
Where the worst Baton Rouge suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Baton Rouge for 2026
To figure out how bad a Baton Rouge suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, 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 16 suburbs to evaluate around Baton Rouge.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 16 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, White Castle.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Baton Rouge.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Baton Rouge Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White Castle | 3.71 | 2,237 | $18,750 | $131,093 |
| 2 | Jackson | 4.86 | 3,958 | $37,844 | $204,287 |
| 3 | St. Gabriel | 5.43 | 6,639 | $74,688 | $263,882 |
| 4 | Donaldsonville | 5.50 | 6,831 | $23,618 | $164,852 |
| 5 | New Roads | 5.79 | 4,404 | $51,328 | $152,312 |
| 6 | Baker | 6.14 | 12,253 | $54,750 | $180,739 |
| 7 | Walker | 8.57 | 6,390 | $80,707 | $253,184 |
| 8 | Port Allen | 8.79 | 4,942 | $59,474 | $213,735 |
| 9 | Gonzales | 9.14 | 13,108 | $75,451 | $288,155 |
| 10 | Plaquemine | 9.14 | 6,075 | $69,366 | $159,906 |
| 11 | Denham Springs | 9.50 | 9,323 | $71,569 | $255,931 |
| 12 | Zachary | 11.07 | 19,952 | $84,480 | $267,773 |
| 13 | Brusly | 11.50 | 2,593 | $105,538 | $280,271 |
| 14 | Central | 12.14 | 29,783 | $89,554 | $282,212 |
| 15 | Sorrento | 12.21 | 2,203 | $117,604 | $311,700 |
| 16 | Addis | 12.50 | 7,252 | $108,041 | $244,631 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 16 suburbs within 30 miles of Baton Rouge.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Baton Rouge where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Baton Rouge with White Castle casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Baton Rouge are White Castle, Jackson, St. Gabriel, Donaldsonville, New Roads, Baker, Walker, Port Allen, Gonzales, and Plaquemine.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Baton Rouge aren’t all bad. Addis takes the cake as the best place to live around Baton Rouge. Not sold on Louisiana? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Baton Rouge FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Baton Rouge?
White Castle ranks as the worst suburb around Baton Rouge for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Jackson and St. Gabriel are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Baton Rouge?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Baton Rouge are White Castle, Jackson, St. Gabriel, Donaldsonville, New Roads, Baker, Walker, Port Allen, Gonzales, and Plaquemine. We scored all 16 places within 30 miles.
Why does White Castle rank as the worst suburb?
White Castle posts the roughest combined numbers of the 16 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $18,750, a median home value of $131,093, and a poverty rate of 60.4%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Baton Rouge?
Addis lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Baton Rouge by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Baton Rouge list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
