Baton Rouge metropolitan area


The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a sprawling area surrounding the city of Baton Rouge. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 802,484, up from 705,973 in 2000.
Comprising the western edge of the Florida Parishes regions, it is known as "Plantation Country", the "Capital Region", and "The 225".
Baton Rouge is unusual because it has no major incorporated satellite cities, a rarity for a metropolitan area of its size.

History

The Baton Rouge metropolitan area was first defined in 1950. Then known as the Baton Rouge Standard Metropolitan Area, it consisted of a single parish – East Baton Rouge – and had a population of 158,236. Following a term change by the Bureau of the Budget in 1959, the Baton Rouge SMA became the Baton Rouge Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. By the census of 1960, the population had grown to 230,058, a 45% increase over the previous census. A total of 285,167 people lived in East Baton Rouge Parish in 1970.
Three additional parishes were added to the Baton Rouge SMSA in 1973 – Ascension, Livingston, and West Baton Rouge. These four parishes had a combined population of 375,628 in 1970. The area grew rapidly during the 1970s and by the 1980 census, the population had increased 32% to 494,151. In 1983, the official name was shortened to the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is still in use to date. 528,264 residents lived in the metropolitan statistical area in 1990 and 602,894 people lived in the four parishes by the year 2000.
In 2003, the Baton Rouge MSA was expanded to its current size with the addition of five more parishes – East Feliciana, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, and West Feliciana. This nine-parish region had a population of 705,973 in 2000.

Parishes

Parish
2000
Census
2008
Estimate
Numerical Change

Growth Rate

Places with more than 225,000 inhabitants