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Baton Rouge, Louisiana
| Baton Rouge, Louisiana | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Baton Rouge
Emile Edwards | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2024 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2028 |
| Last city council election: | 2024 |
| Next city council election: | 2028 |
| City council seats: | 12 |
| City website | |
| Composition data | |
| Population: | 227,470 |
| Race: | White 35.2% African American 53.8% Asian 3.2% Native American 0.3% Pacific Islander 0% Multiple 4.4% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic or Latino origin 5.9% |
| Median household income: | $49,944 |
| High school graduation rate: | 87.5% |
| College graduation rate: | 35.8% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 census and 2023 ACS data. Percentages are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. | |
| Related Baton Rouge offices | |
| Louisiana Congressional Delegation Louisiana State Legislature Louisiana state executive offices | |
Baton Rouge is a city in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. Since 1947, Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish have operated as a consolidated government.[1] The city's population was 227,470 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Baton Rouge utilizes a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[1]
Mayor
The mayor, which holds the title of mayor-president because of Baton Rouge's consolidation with East Baton Rouge Parish, serves as the city's chief executive. The responsibilities of the mayor include proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing some departmental directors, and overseeing the city's day-to-day operations. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national, and international levels.[1][2] The current Mayor of Baton Rouge is Emile Edwards (R). Edwards assumed office in 2025.
City council
The Baton Rouge Metro Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, approving mayoral appointees, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[3]
The Baton Rouge Metro Council is made up of 12 members, each of whom is elected by one of the city's 12 districts.[3]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
East Baton Rouge Parish Constable - Justice Court
Other elected officials
Mayoral partisanship
Baton Rouge has a Republican mayor. As of September 2025, 66 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 23 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, three are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
Note: The city of Baton Rouge operates under a consolidated government with the Parish of East Baton Rouge. Members of the Metro Council are elected through 12 districts within the parish. The mayor-president is elected by the entire parish. The cities of Central, Baker, and Zachary each have their own governing bodies, but residents are able to vote for the mayor-president and members of the Metro Council.[4]
2025
The city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is holding a special primary for 19th Judicial District Court judge and Baton Rouge City Court judge on October 11, 2025. A general election is scheduled for November 15, 2025. The filing deadline for this election was July 11, 2025.
The city was also expected to hold a special primary for 19th Judicial District Court judge on March 29, 2025. A general election was scheduled for May 3, 2025. The primary and general were canceled after Carson Marcantel won election outright, as Marcantel was the only candidate to file for the seat. The filing deadline for this election was January 31, 2025.
2024
The city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, held primaries for mayor, metro council, city constable, city court judges on November 5, 2024. A general election was scheduled for December 7, 2024. The filing deadline for this election was July 19, 2024.
2023
The city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, held primary elections for assessor, clerk of court, coroner, and sheriff on October 14, 2023. A general election was scheduled for November 18, 2023. The filing deadline for this election was August 10, 2023. The same dates were used for holding special elections for a district court judgeship and a family court judgeship.
The city also held a special general election for district court judge on April 29, 2023. A primary was scheduled for March 25, 2023. The filing deadline for this election was January 27, 2023.
2022
The city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, held special elections for Metro Council District 5 and judicial court judge on March 26, 2022. A general election, if needed, was scheduled for April 30, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was January 28, 2022.
A special election for judicial court judge was also on the ballot on November 8, 2022. A general election, if needed, was scheduled for December 10, 2022. The filing deadline was July 22.[5]
2021
The city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, held a special primary election for East Baton Rouge Parish Family Court Section 1 Division B and Baton Rouge City Court Division 2A on October 9, 2021. A general election was scheduled for November 13, 2021. The filing deadline for this election was July 16, 2021.[6]
2020
The city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, held elections for mayor-president, twelve city council seats, six constables, six justices of the peace, fifteen 19th Judicial District judgeships, district attorney for the 19th Judicial District, two East Baton Rouge Parish Juvenile Court judgeships, and four East Baton Rouge Parish Family Court judgeships. A primary was held on November 3, 2020, and the general election was held on December 5, 2020. The filing deadline was July 24, 2020.
The city also voted on a special property tax renewal for the law enforcement district on July 11, 2020. Read more on that ballot measure here.
2019
The city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, held a special election for the District 8 seat on the metro council on March 30, 2019. A general election was scheduled for May 4, 2019, but was not needed. The filing deadline for this election was February 1, 2019.
East Baton Rouge Parish held primary elections for sheriff, clerk of court, assessor, coroner, and special elections for four 19th Judicial District Court seats, one East Baton Rouge Parish Juvenile Court, and one justice of the peace seat on October 12, 2019. A general election was held on November 16, 2019. The filing deadline for those races was on August 8, 2019.[7][8]
2018
The city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, held a primary election for city court constable on November 6, 2018. A general election was held on December 8, 2018.
2016
The city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, held elections for mayor and metropolitan council on December 10, 2016. A primary election took place on November 8, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was July 22, 2016. All 12 metropolitan council seats were up for election.[9][10]
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Baton Rouge | |
|---|---|
| Baton Rouge | |
| Population | 227,470 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 86 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 36.2% |
| Black/African American | 51% |
| Asian | 3.6% |
| Native American | 0.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.2% |
| Other (single race) | 3.9% |
| Multiple | 5.1% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 6.5% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 87.5% |
| College graduation rate | 35.8% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $49,944 |
| Persons below poverty level | 25% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
The city's budget process operates on a fiscal year cycle from January 1 to December 31. The city charter gives responsibility for drafting a budget to the mayor with help from city personnel. The Metropolitan Council holds hearings in November to discuss the budget. A special city council meeting is then held in December to adopt the budget.[11]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[12]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[13] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[14] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[12]
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
222 Saint Louis Street, 3rd Floor
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Phone: 225-389-3100
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
The city of Baton Rouge is in East Baton Rouge Parish. A list of ballot measures in East Baton Rouge Parish is available here.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Baton Rouge, following the death of George Floyd. Events in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, began on Saturday, May 30, 2020, at Elevate Church.[15] No curfews were issued. The national guard was not deployed.
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a city or county that did not prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[16]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also
- Cities in Louisiana
- East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
- Largest cities in the United States by population
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 City of Baton Rouge, "Our Government," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ City of Baton Rouge, "Office of the Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 City of Baton Rouge, "Metropolitan Council," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ City of Baton Rouge, "Our Government," accessed October 22, 2019
- ↑ The Advocate, "Following death of 19th JDC judge, Nov. 8 special election called to fill seat," January 19, 2022
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "Gov. Edwards Sets Special Elections for March, April in Congressional Districts 2 and 5," January 7, 2021
- ↑ The Advocate, "A fourth 19th Judicial District Court judge, Mike Caldwell, is retiring early," May 8, 2019
- ↑ The Advocate, "Juvenile Court Judge Pamela Johnson, one of longest serving in Louisiana, to retire," July 19, 2019
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "2016 Elections," accessed January 21, 2016
- ↑ The Advocate, "Baton Rouge faces political shake-up with all 12 seats on Metro Council up for grabs this fall," January 19, 2016
- ↑ City of Baton Rouge, "2023 Annual Operating Budget," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ KATC, "Protests in New Orleans, Baton Rouge over death of George Floyd," May 30, 2020
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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