Best PlacesHighlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge ranks 4,619th 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 Highlands-Perkins, 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.
Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge's strengths and weaknesses
Where Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge ranks high
- Cheap childcare$676 a month, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- Short commute20.0 minutes each way, better than 80% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 63% of neighborhoods
Where Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge
A household needs to earn about $100,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $67,912, 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 Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge's effective rate of 0.65%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge
Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge runs younger than the country, 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 Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge.
Who works in Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge, and how
Work in Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge
Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge, month by month
Highlands-Perkins, 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 Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge
The nearest airport, Baton Rouge Metro, Ryan Field, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 61 miles away.
The best schools in and around Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge
Schools across Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge average a C, better than 38% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Buchanan Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Lasalle Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Highland Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mckinley Middle Magnet SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Glasgow Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Westdale Middle SchoolD · 22% 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 Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Highlands-Perkins, 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 Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge suits
Common questions about living in Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge
Is Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge ranks 4,619th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, an educated workforce, and short commutes, and lowest on state infrastructure and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $389,321. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $67,912 median income, cost of living beats 53% of neighborhoods.
Is Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge safe?
Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge is safer than 40% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $688 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 43. That works out to about 108 pleasant days a year, more than 56% of neighborhoods.
Is Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge good for families?
Schools beat 38% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 40%, and childcare runs $676 a month.
Compare Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Highlands-Perkins, 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.
Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Highlands-Perkins, Baton Rouge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Highlands-Perkins, 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.