Best PlacesGarden District, Baton Rouge, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Garden District, Baton Rouge, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Garden District, Baton Rouge ranks 5,077th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Garden District, Baton Rouge
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Garden District, Baton Rouge's strengths and weaknesses
Where Garden District, Baton Rouge ranks high
- Cheap childcare$676 a month, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
Where Garden District, Baton Rouge ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Garden District, Baton Rouge
A household needs to earn about $72,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Garden District, Baton Rouge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $59,957, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Garden District, Baton Rouge's effective rate of 0.51%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Garden District, Baton Rouge
Garden District, Baton Rouge's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Garden District, Baton Rouge.
Who works in Garden District, Baton Rouge, and how
Work in Garden District, Baton Rouge centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 22%
Life in Garden District, Baton Rouge
Garden District, Baton Rouge has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 96% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Garden District, Baton Rouge and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Garden District, Baton Rouge, month by month
Garden District, Baton Rouge sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 52° | 43° |
| April | 80° | 69° | 59° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 75° |
| October | 84° | 71° | 61° |
Flying in and out of Garden District, Baton Rouge
The nearest airport, Baton Rouge Metro, Ryan Field, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 63 miles away.
The best schools in and around Garden District, Baton Rouge
Schools across Garden District, Baton Rouge average a C, better than 36% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Buchanan Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- The Dufrocq SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- University Terrace Elementary SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top middle schools
- Glasgow Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Westdale Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Capitol Middle SchoolF · 5% proficient
Top high schools
- Liberty High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Mckinley Senior High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Garden District, Baton Rouge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Garden District, Baton Rouge measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Garden District, Baton Rouge against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Garden District, Baton Rouge
Is Garden District, Baton Rouge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Garden District, Baton Rouge ranks 5,077th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, cell coverage, and low property taxes, and lowest on state infrastructure and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Garden District, Baton Rouge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $286,335. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $59,957 median income, cost of living beats 52% of neighborhoods.
Is Garden District, Baton Rouge safe?
Garden District, Baton Rouge is safer than 10% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,144 per resident a year.
Compare Garden District, Baton Rouge with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Garden District, Baton Rouge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Garden District, Baton Rouge represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Garden District, Baton Rouge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Garden District, Baton Rouge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Garden District, Baton Rouge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Garden District, Baton Rouge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Garden District, Baton Rouge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Garden District, Baton Rouge detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.