West Baton Rouge Parish, LA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 30.46, -91.31.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 56th pct · 1,322nd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 88th pct · 8th of 64 Louisiana counties · median $170,587
- 66th pct · 4th of 10 counties in the Baton Rouge metro · median $227,130
- 39th pct · 1,840th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 39th pct · 39th of 64 Louisiana counties · median +2.5%
- 33rd pct · 7th of 10 counties in the Baton Rouge metro · median +2.3%
- 39th pct · 818th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 54th pct · 12th of 25 Louisiana counties · median $1,356
- counties in the Baton Rouge metro: only 4 of counties in the Baton Rouge metro published this metric; fewer than 5 is too few to rank
- 61st pct · 1,228th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 63rd pct · 24th of 64 Louisiana counties · median 10,187
- 55th pct · 5th of 10 counties in the Baton Rouge metro · median 9,323
- 83rd pct · 521st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 77th pct · 15th of 64 Louisiana counties · median $1,033
- 55th pct · 5th of 10 counties in the Baton Rouge metro · median $1,240
- 39th pct · 1,856th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 80th pct · 13th of 64 Louisiana counties · median 3.0
- 66th pct · 4th of 10 counties in the Baton Rouge metro · median 3.6
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $250,605 (Sep 2026), +2.0% over one year, +17.2% over five
- 56th pct · 1,322nd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 88th pct · 8th of 64 Louisiana counties · median $170,587
- 66th pct · 4th of 10 counties in the Baton Rouge metro · median $227,130
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| West Baton Rouge Parish, LA | $250,605 · +2.0% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $1,396/mo (Sep 2026), +2.3% over one year; price-to-rent 15.0
- 39th pct · 818th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 54th pct · 12th of 25 Louisiana counties · median $1,356
- counties in the Baton Rouge metro: only 4 of counties in the Baton Rouge metro published this metric; fewer than 5 is too few to rank
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| West Baton Rouge Parish, LA | $1,396/mo · +2.3% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $1,388 a month on $250,605 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,577 a month: 24.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $250,605 × 80% = $200,484, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,388/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,287 × 52 / 12 = $5,577) = 25% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $250,605 / ($1,287 × 52) = 3.7
- price-to-rent = $250,605 / ($1,396 × 12) = 15.0
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
13,212 jobs at 883 employers (2026 Q1); -2.4% jobs and +1.8% average weekly wage over the year
- 61st pct · 1,228th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 63rd pct · 24th of 64 Louisiana counties · median 10,187
- 55th pct · 5th of 10 counties in the Baton Rouge metro · median 9,323
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| West Baton Rouge Parish, LA | 13,212 jobs · $1,287/wk · -2.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 2,523 | $1,556 | 3.64 | -2.7% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 2,237 | $1,155 | 4.02 | +0.9% |
| Retail trade | 1,057 | $620 | 0.82 | -0.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,047 | $385 | 0.88 | -2.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 690 | $1,377 | 1.36 | +1.0% |
| Health care and social assistance | 494 | $789 | 0.25 | -6.1% |
| Other services | 366 | $1,068 | 0.93 | -0.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 287 | $1,758 | 0.31 | -2.7% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 183 | $968 | 0.84 | -4.7% |
| Real estate and rental | 119 | $1,138 | 0.59 | -5.6% |
| Educational services | 77 | $442 | 0.27 | +4.1% |
| Utilities | 22 | $2,443 | 0.42 | -8.3% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
D1 moderate drought
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
moderate (0.25)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$566.9 m in deposits at 8 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,974, highly concentrated. $336.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (contracts $178.5 m, direct payments $140.7 m), $25,475 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| b1BANK | $338.9 m · 59.8% share · 2 offices | |
| Investar Bank, National Association | $74.1 m · 13.1% share · 1 office | |
| Renasant Bank | $56.7 m · 10.0% share · 2 offices | |
| West Baton Rouge, LA | $336.6 m FY2026 · $25,475/job | |
| PLACID REFINING COMPANY LLC | $178.2 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| b1BANK | $338,919,000 | 59.8% | 2 |
| Investar Bank, National Association | $74,129,000 | 13.1% | 1 |
| Renasant Bank | $56,715,000 | 10.0% | 2 |
| Cottonport Bank | $55,879,000 | 9.9% | 1 |
| Guaranty Bank and Trust Company | $29,702,000 | 5.2% | 1 |
| Landmark Bank | $11,535,000 | 2.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,974 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 59.8² + 13.1² + 10.0² + … (3 more) = 3,974
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Department of Defense | $178,531,148 |
| Social Security Administration | $119,799,704 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $16,152,960 |
| Department of Transportation | $16,095,854 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $2,011,125 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,317,864 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,282,680 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,021,155 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $404,701 |
| Department of the Interior | $6,730 |
| Department of Commerce | $0 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | -$1 |
That is $25,475 per covered job, against 13,212 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $336.6 m / 13,212 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $25,475
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-19 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
West Baton Rouge Parish, LA: 11 findings, 5 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchWest Baton Rouge Parish, LA's covered employment is -2.4% against a year earlier, a watch level here: covered employment below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -2.4 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchWest Baton Rouge Parish, LA's typical asking rent is -1.1% against the previous month, a watch level here: typical asking rent at least 1 percent below the previous month (arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: rent.momPct = -1.136945898906779 <= -1
- month-over-month percent change = (newest month − previous month) / |previous month| × 100, from Zillow's own published month columns
arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchWest Baton Rouge Parish, LA's price-to-rent ratio of 15.0 scores 28 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 88 across Louisiana counties, a gap of 59 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 59 = |28 across US counties - 88 across Louisiana counties|
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchWest Baton Rouge Parish, LA's years of wages of 3.7 scores 39 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 81 across Louisiana counties, a gap of 42 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 42 = |39 across US counties - 81 across Louisiana counties|
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchWest Baton Rouge Parish, LA's typical home value of $250,605 scores 57 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 89 across Louisiana counties, a gap of 32 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 32 = |57 across US counties - 89 across Louisiana counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 11 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.