Baton Rouge vs Mobile
The short version
- Mobile is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 3% lower than in the Baton Rouge area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $193,300 in Mobile and $234,700 in Baton Rouge.
- Households earn more in Mobile ($53,558 vs $49,994 median).
Side by side
| Baton Rouge, LA | Mobile, AL | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 222,795 | 200,824 |
| Growth since 2020 | -1.7% | -2.9% |
| People per square mile | 2,563 | 1,331 |
| Median age | 31.5 | 37.3 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 37% | 32% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $49,994 | $53,558 |
| Median home value | $234,700 | $193,300 |
| Home value to income | 4.7× | 3.6× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,067 | $1,068 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 90.8 | 88.1 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 74.2 | 60.1 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $68,100 | $66,100 |
| Homeowners | 48% | 54% |
| Top state income tax | 3% | 5% |
| Combined sales tax | 10.13% | 9.46% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 21.0 | 22.8 |
| Work from home | 8% | 9% |
| Take public transit | 1% | 1% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 9.2% | 5.6% |
| Poverty rate | 25.7% | 18.4% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 62° / 42° | 62° / 41° |
| July high / low | 92° / 74° | 91° / 73° |
| Precipitation per year | 62 in | 67 in |
| Snowfall per year | 0 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 96 | 78 |
| Nights below freezing | 18 | 21 |
| Comfortable months | 3 | 2 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 98.0 | 98.0 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 36% | 72% |
| Home prices, past year | +2.8% | +2.1% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +24.4% | +40.8% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Baton Rouge: February to March and November. Mobile: February and October.
Full monthly tables: Baton Rouge weather by month and Mobile weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $68,100 in Baton Rouge and $66,100 in Mobile. Moving from Baton Rouge to Mobile, you would need about $72,800 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Baton Rouge and Mobile
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Baton Rouge and Mobile.
Which would you pick?
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