Louisiana · County property tax · ACS 2024
West Baton Rouge Parish Property Taxes
The median homeowner in West Baton Rouge Parish pays $1,251 a year, an effective rate of 0.54%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,251
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.54%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -37%
- vs U.S. average
- #15 of 64
- rank in LA
The verdict
Homeowners in West Baton Rouge Parish pay a median $1,251 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.54%, more affordable than 79% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,251
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.54%
- Effective rate on median home
- #659 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -37%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($229,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Louisiana. Population: 27,974. Owner-occupied homes: 8,429.
The median annual property tax in West Baton Rouge Parish is $1,251, which is 6% higher than the Louisiana state average and 37% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.54% on a median home value of $229,900. Property taxes represent 1.4% of the median household income in this county.
West Baton Rouge Parish's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
West Baton Rouge Parish's 0.54% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 79%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in West Baton Rouge Parish pay a median annual property tax of $1,251, well below the national median and modestly above the Louisiana state median. On a $229,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.54% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in West Baton Rouge Parish run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.4% of the $87,299 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Low among Louisiana counties by effective rate
West Baton Rouge Parish ranks #15 of 64 counties in Louisiana by effective rate (77% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in West Baton Rouge Parish as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
The rate held while the market moved
West Baton Rouge Parish sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 7.4% up, against a median home value that rose 16.7%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 25.4%, from $998 to $1,251.
Effective rate is the published median bill divided by the published median home value, so the two multiply back to the bill exactly; the rate's movement here is derived from those two figures rather than read from the rounded published rate. Both are ACS 5-year survey estimates for the median owner-occupied household, compared across non-overlapping releases. They describe what the Census published, not a local policy, assessment, or exemption change.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 25% from $998 to $1,251. These ACS medians describe the reported change; they do not identify whether a levy, assessment, home value, or change in the responding households caused it.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 2,187 of 8,429 owner-occupied homes (25.9%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
The most forgiving PAIRING in the data, top-quartile household income with a bottom-quartile effective rate, puts the median bill at 1.4% of median household income. Home values still drive the dollar figure, which is why the ratio above varies widely among counties that share this position.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
Paying off the mortgage changes the picture here
32.4% of West Baton Rouge Parish homes owned free and clear (1,081 of 3,341) report no property tax at all, against 11.5% of homes still carrying a mortgage. A reported zero is not proof of an exemption: it can equally mean a bill paid by another party, or a reporting artefact. But a gap this size is where age- and disability-based relief usually shows up, because those programmes reach owners who have finished paying.
What West Baton Rouge Parish Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of West Baton Rouge Parish homeowners, 2,187 of 8,429 owner-occupied homes (25.9%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 25.9% (2,187)
- $800 to $1,499 22.0% (1,858)
- $1,500 to $1,999 16.5% (1,392)
- $2,000 to $2,999 9.0% (757)
- $3,000 or more 6.8% (570)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
1,665 homes here (19.8%) report no real estate tax at all, a sizeable minority for a county this size. Exemptions are set by state: how Louisiana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in West Baton Rouge Parish pay a substantially higher bill, 31% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
West Baton Rouge Parish's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
West Baton Rouge Parish's effective rate is higher than 77% of the 64 counties in Louisiana - ranking #15 of 64.
Where West Baton Rouge Parish sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.54% Among the most affordable more affordable than 79% of 3,135 U.S. counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more U.S. counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024
What changed since 2020
The median bill in West Baton Rouge Parish moved from $998 in the 2020 release to $1,251 in 2024, a change of about 25%. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates compared across releases that share only one sample year, which is why this page never compares consecutive releases: those overlap in four years of the same households and move mostly on sampling.
West Baton Rouge Parish vs Benchmarks
| Metric | West Baton Rouge Parish | Louisiana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.4% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
West Baton Rouge Parish is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Louisiana counties.
West Baton Rouge Parish rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,251 -6.4% | 0.54% |
| 2023 | $1,336 +8.4% | 0.59% |
| 2022 | $1,233 +15.1% | 0.55% |
| 2021 | $1,071 +7.3% | 0.55% |
| 2020 | $998 | 0.51% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
West Baton Rouge Parish: tax takes only 1.4% of income
Counties near West Baton Rouge Parish's effective rate
On effective rate, West Baton Rouge Parish sits nearest Robertson County (KY), Cumberland County (KY), Caldwell County (KY).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Hudspeth County (TX), Rio Grande County (CO), Yolo County (CA).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
West Baton Rouge Parish: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 730 of 12,520 returns from West Baton Rouge Parish reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,347 - 42% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Louisiana
West Baton Rouge Parish rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for West Baton Rouge Parish?
- West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana scores B (72/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is income room at A (1.4%). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- What is the average property tax in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana?
- The median annual property tax in West Baton Rouge Parish is $1,251, an effective rate of 0.54% on a $229,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does West Baton Rouge Parish property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in West Baton Rouge Parish run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.54% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in West Baton Rouge Parish?
- Property taxes in West Baton Rouge Parish run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.4% of the $87,299 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in West Baton Rouge Parish?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for West Baton Rouge Parish jumped 25.4% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $998 to $1,251, a 4-year span. These are survey estimates covering five years each, so this compares the two releases furthest apart rather than consecutive ones, which overlap and would mostly measure the same households twice.
What to do with West Baton Rouge Parish's QUIET rate
West Baton Rouge Parish's $1,251 median bill sits well below the U.S. median - still size a parcel estimate; local millage and exemptions move the real bill. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is light here: about 1.4% of West Baton Rouge Parish's $87,299 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for West Baton Rouge Parish's QUIET effective rate, then a disjoint out-of-state bill set so the two neighborhoods stay distinct.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.54%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,251/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with West Baton Rouge Parish
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for West Baton Rouge Parish (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Brown County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,250/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.10% vs West Baton Rouge Parish 0.54%.
Coleman County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,252/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.35% vs West Baton Rouge Parish 0.54%.
Jefferson County, IN
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,252/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.64% vs West Baton Rouge Parish 0.54%.
Lee County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,252/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.48% vs West Baton Rouge Parish 0.54%.
Louisiana county set
State ACS overview for every published Louisiana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
West Baton Rouge Parish stamps QUIET · LIGHT - how assessed value and millage become the ACS median bill.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 West Baton Rouge Parish (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.