Elevation of Baton Rouge
46ft
above sea level · 14 m
Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana. Of the 50 state capitals, it’s the 7th lowest. The state’s largest city is New Orleans.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 30.45° N · 91.15° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 30° 27′ 3″ N · 91° 9′ 16″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 15R · 677,194 E · 3,370,180 N
- Zone 15 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Central Time
- UTC−6 · UTC−5 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 222,795 people
- 86.4 sq mi of land · 2,579 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from November 2018: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Baton Rouge had 222,795 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 1.7% fewer than in April 2020, when it had 226,697. Its 86.4 sq mi of land work out to 2,579 people/sq mi; the state average is 107 people/sq mi.
It’s the 2nd most populous of the 482 places the Census counts in Louisiana (cities, towns and CDPs), after New Orleans (362,154), and holds 4.8% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within East Baton Rouge Parish. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 1.5 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other state capitals
Baton Rouge sits at 46 ft (14 m) above sea level. Of the 50 state capitals, the highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft). The average is 1,098 ft: Baton Rouge is 1,052 ft below it.
The highest point in Louisiana is Driskill Mountain, at 535 ft according to the USGS: 489 ft above Baton Rouge, 171 mi away in a straight line.
- 44 Baton Rouge 46 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
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Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Baton Rouge.
What is the elevation of Baton Rouge?
Baton Rouge is 46 feet (14 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Baton Rouge?
Latitude 30.45075 and longitude -91.15455, in decimal degrees (30° 27′ 3″ N · 91° 9′ 16″ W). In UTM, zone 15: 677,194 E and 3,370,180 N, on NAD83.
How does Baton Rouge rank among the highest state capitals?
It’s the 7th lowest of the 50 state capitals. The highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft).
What county is Baton Rouge in?
East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
Which is higher, Baton Rouge or New Orleans?
Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge sits at 46 ft and New Orleans at 0 ft: a difference of 46 ft, 73 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know