East Baton Rouge County

Note: Louisiana’s “counties” are called parishes. Figures below refer to East Baton Rouge Parish.

Population

• Total: ~455,000 (2023 estimate)

Age

• Median age: ~34–35 years
• Under 18: ~22–23%
• 65 and over: ~14–15%

Sex

• Female: ~53%
• Male: ~47%

Race/ethnicity (Hispanic can be of any race)

• Black/African American: ~47%
• White (non-Hispanic): ~41%
• Hispanic/Latino: ~4–5%
• Asian: ~3%
• Two or more races: ~3%
• Other: <1%

Households and housing

• Households: ~175,000–180,000
• Average household size: ~2.5
• Family households: ~60% of households
• Tenure: ~55–57% owner-occupied; ~43–45% renter-occupied

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (most recent available, 2023 1-year estimates).

Email usage snapshot: East Baton Rouge Parish, LA

• Estimated email users: roughly 330,000–360,000 residents (scaled from adult population and near‑universal U.S. email adoption).
• Age distribution (share of email users, approx):
  • 18–29: 22–25% (student/early‑career, near‑universal use)
  • 30–49: 32–35% (highest daily work use)
  • 50–64: 20–22%
  • 65+: 18–21% (slightly lower adoption, less frequent use)
• Gender split: near‑even; about 52% female, 48% male, mirroring local population.
• Digital access trends:
  • About 80–87% of households have a broadband subscription; roughly 10–15% lack home internet.
  • 15–20% of adults are smartphone‑only for internet (higher in lower‑income areas).
  • Email is entrenched for work/school; daily use highest among employed adults and students; seniors use it more sporadically.
• Local density/connectivity facts:
  • Population ~456k; density ~1,000 people per square mile.
  • Baton Rouge hosts LSU and Southern University, boosting 18–24 email intensity.
  • Cable and growing fiber coverage from major providers (e.g., Cox, AT&T) is strong in urban/suburban areas; northern/edge neighborhoods show lower adoption and more mobile‑only reliance.
  • East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s branch network offers free Wi‑Fi and computers, mitigating access gaps.

Below is a concise, locally focused snapshot of mobile phone usage in East Baton Rouge Parish (county-equivalent), Louisiana, with estimates, demographic nuance, and infrastructure notes—emphasizing how the parish differs from statewide patterns.

Headline estimates

• Population baseline: About 450,000 residents.
• Mobile users (any cellphone): ~350,000–380,000 residents, based on near‑universal adult cellphone ownership and high teen adoption.
• Smartphone users: ~330,000–360,000 residents, reflecting urban, student-heavy demographics and strong 4G/5G availability.
• Smartphone‑only internet households: Parish-wide likely in the high‑teens percent, with several urban tracts reaching the low‑to‑mid 20% range—higher than typical suburban/rural Louisiana, and on par with or slightly above the statewide average.

How the estimates were derived (in brief)

• Adults are roughly three‑quarters of the population; national adult cellphone ownership is ~97% and smartphone ownership ~90%+. Teen smartphone adoption is very high. Urban parishes with universities tend to exceed state averages on both metrics. Ranges given reflect these factors rather than a single point estimate.

Demographic breakdown and usage patterns

• Age and students: The parish skews younger than Louisiana overall due to LSU and other campuses. That means:
  • Higher smartphone penetration and 5G device uptake than the state average.
  • Greater app‑centric behavior (ride‑hail, food delivery, m‑payments) and heavier mobile data usage around campus and entertainment districts.
• Race/ethnicity: East Baton Rouge has a larger Black population share than Louisiana overall (parish roughly half Black, lower White share than the state, with smaller but growing Hispanic and Asian communities).
  • Consistent with national patterns, Black and lower‑income households are more likely to rely on smartphones as their primary internet connection. In EBR this is visible in north and inner‑city tracts where smartphone‑only rates run above the parish average.
• Income and housing: Median household income is slightly higher than the state, but the parish also includes sizable student and lower‑income areas.
  • This creates a “barbell” effect: strong flagship adoption of new devices/plans in higher‑income suburbs, with elevated smartphone‑only dependence in lower‑income neighborhoods.
• Work and commuting: Concentrations of healthcare, petrochemical, state government, and education employment lead to heavy weekday network loads along I‑10/I‑12, downtown, the petro‑corridor, and near hospitals—usage patterns more “metro‑like” than much of Louisiana.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Carrier footprint and 5G: AT&T, T‑Mobile, and Verizon all operate robust 4G LTE and mid‑band 5G in the parish, with denser 5G coverage than most rural Louisiana. You’ll find:
  • Small‑cell clusters and upgraded macro sites along I‑10/I‑12, downtown, LSU/Tiger Stadium (DAS inside the venue), Perkins/Acadian, and major shopping corridors.
  • Mid‑band 5G (e.g., C‑band/2.5 GHz) common in the urban core, providing better capacity than typical statewide rural coverage.
• Backhaul and fixed networks: AT&T Fiber and Cox (DOCSIS 3.1) provide core backhaul and high‑capacity fixed access across much of the urbanized area—supporting mobile densification; fiber is sparser toward the parish edges compared with the core.
• Public connectivity: Parish libraries and campuses offer extensive Wi‑Fi; downtown and event venues add seasonal or event‑driven capacity. These options reduce mobile data reliance during the day versus rural parishes with fewer public access points.
• Resiliency: As a regional hub during hurricanes and evacuations, Baton Rouge sees prioritized restoration, portable cells (COWs) during major events, and broad availability of public‑safety networks (e.g., FirstNet)—a resiliency profile stronger than many parts of the state.

Where East Baton Rouge differs most from Louisiana overall

• Higher smartphone and 5G device penetration driven by a younger, more urban population and university presence.
• Greater density of 5G mid‑band, small cells, and venue DAS than most parishes; better peak‑hour capacity along major corridors.
• More pronounced intra‑parish divide: high‑end device adoption in affluent suburbs alongside elevated smartphone‑only reliance in lower‑income and student areas. Statewide, the gap is more urban‑rural; in EBR it’s neighborhood‑to‑neighborhood within the metro.
• More abundant public Wi‑Fi and institutional connectivity (campuses, libraries, hospitals), which complement mobile usage and are less prevalent in rural parishes.
• Network hardening and temporary capacity deployments for major events and storm seasons are more common here than in many Louisiana parishes.

Practical implications

• For service planners: Capacity and affordability investments both matter—mid‑band 5G and small cells near LSU/downtown, plus low‑cost plans and device programs in north Baton Rouge.
• For digital inclusion: Smartphone‑only households remain a sizable segment; pairing ACP‑successor subsidies, low‑cost fixed options, and device literacy efforts with targeted fiber expansions can narrow gaps more effectively than statewide one‑size‑fits‑all approaches.

Note: Louisiana uses “parish,” not “county.” Figures below are best-available estimates for East Baton Rouge Parish, derived by applying recent U.S. adult platform-usage rates (Pew Research Center, 2024) to the local population (ACS/Census). Local, platform-level data at the parish level are rarely published; treat as directional.

Snapshot

• Population: ~456,000 (East Baton Rouge Parish). Adults 18+: ~346,000.
• Estimated social media users (any platform):
  • Adults: ~275,000–295,000 (≈80–85% of adults)
  • Teens (13–17): ~30,000–33,000
  • Total users (13+): roughly 305,000–325,000

Most-used platforms (estimated adult usage in EBR; double counting across platforms is expected)

• YouTube: 83% of adults (287k)
• Facebook: 68% (235k)
• Instagram: 47% (162k)
• Pinterest: 35% (121k)
• TikTok: 33% (114k)
• LinkedIn: 30% (104k)
• Snapchat: 30% (104k)
• X (Twitter): 27% (93k)
• WhatsApp: 26% (90k)
• Reddit: 22% (76k)
• Nextdoor: 20% (69k)

Age mix of social users (modeled)

• 18–29: ~26–30% of local social users; heavy Instagram/TikTok/Snapchat, near-universal YouTube.
• 30–49: ~36–40%; strong on Facebook/YouTube; growing Instagram/TikTok for short video; LinkedIn among professionals.
• 50–64: ~20–23%; Facebook and YouTube dominate; Pinterest common.
• 65+: ~10–13%; Facebook and YouTube are primary; some Nextdoor for neighborhood info. Contextual note: LSU and Southern University enlarge the 18–24 cohort locally, nudging usage toward Instagram/TikTok/Snapchat versus the national average.

Gender breakdown

• Overall: roughly mirrors parish demographics (~52% women, ~48% men) for “any social.”
• Platform skews (national pattern likely holds locally):
  • More women: Pinterest (strongly), Facebook (slight), Snapchat (slight), TikTok (slight), Nextdoor.
  • More men: YouTube, Reddit, X; LinkedIn slightly male-leaning.
  • Instagram: close to balanced.

Behavioral trends in East Baton Rouge

• Community-first Facebook: High activity in neighborhood, school, church, and buy/sell groups; event coordination; storm/flood updates; crime and traffic reports.
• Hyperlocal news on Facebook/YouTube/X: Heavy followership of WBRZ, The Advocate, BRPD, Sheriff, parish agencies for real-time alerts (weather, road closures, outages).
• LSU-centric content: Strong spikes around LSU sports, tailgates, recruiting, and campus life; short-form video (Reels/TikTok) performs best.
• Short-form video habit: Reels/TikTok used for restaurants, crawfish/seafood drops, festivals, Mardi Gras, and “things to do” guides.
• Messaging ecosystems: Facebook Messenger is default for many; WhatsApp pockets among international communities and industrial/oil & gas workers; Snapchat among teens/college-aged for daily comms.
• Nextdoor for homeowners: Used for HOA updates, safety, services, lost/found pets; skewed to 35+.
• Faith and civic streaming: Churches, schools, and civic meetings often stream on Facebook/YouTube; Sunday and early evening peaks.
• Commerce discovery: Facebook/Instagram drive foot traffic and orders for local food trucks, plate lunches, boutiques; promotions tied to sports games, holidays, and festival season.
• Time-of-day peaks: Morning commute/news check, lunch break scroll, and 7–10 pm evening window; live sports and severe weather override typical patterns.

Method note

• Percentages are national adult adoption rates (Pew, 2024) applied to the EBR adult population to create local estimates; teen usage based on high national penetration among 13–17. For planning, rely on platform insights (Meta/TikTok/YouTube analytics) to validate your specific audience in EBR.