The local economy is doing well and unemployment has declined, but income inequality is preventing some in East Baton Rouge Parish from sharing in the prosperity, according to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s new CityStats survey.
East Baton Rouge added more than 5,843 jobs in 2015 to bring the parish’s total workforce to 226,426. The unemployment rate also decreased from 5.8% in 2014 to 5.4% in 2015. Income inequality, however, remains a persistent issue along racial lines, the report says.
For every dollar earned by a white household in 2014, Asian households earned 65 cents; Hispanic households earned 57 cents; and black households earned 46 cents, the report says.
Meanwhile, median household incomes on average in the city-parish were flat between 2013 and 2014, at $63,558, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics. White households saw their median income fall 2% over that span, but were still much higher than minority households, at $88,901. Median Hispanic household income was flat at $51,404, while Asian households fell by 12% to $51,404 and black households were flat at $41,029.
BRAF’s annual CityStats survey serves as a quality of life measure in the parish. It tracks how well the parish is doing, where it’s been, how far it’s come and where it needs to go. The report also looks at transportation, public safety, culture and recreation, crime, library use, education and others.
In a nutshell, violent crime has declined and residents are less afraid of crime, the report says. For the first time in the survey’s history, more Baton Rougeans expressed support for marijuana legalization, at 41%, than those against it, 30%. Also, 53% say they would support a one-time property tax to improve the LSU lakes, and 39% say they would consider biking to work if the city had dedicated bike paths.
The survey also found fewer people—32%—feel afraid to walk around their neighborhoods at night now than they did a year ago, when 36% said the same. Violent crimes, while up in 2015, are still lower than there were in 2012. According to the report, there were 77 murders in 2015, 63 in 2014 and 81 in 2012. Law enforcement officials attribute the dip in from 2012 to 2014 to the targeting of gang activity. The increase last year is being blamed on drug activity and a greater number of multiple homicides, the report says.
“Poverty, by most accounts, continues to be Baton Rouge’s biggest problem,” reads a summary of the survey’s highlights, noting one in five people in the city were poor in 2014. “It’s the fundamental reason for many other problems, including low school scores, an unhealthy population and crime.”
—Alexandria Burris
