West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
West Baton Rouge Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Port Allen and as of 2000, the population was 21,601. The parish has a highly-rated school system and is one of the few in Louisiana that has privatized school bus services. It is estimated in the future that families will leave East Baton Rouge Parish for the better schools in West Baton Rouge, such as is going in Ascension Parish with many families leaving East Baton Rouge for the better school systems for their children and economic opportunities. West Baton Rouge saw a very small percentage of growth after Hurricane Katrina with the latest estimate (July 2006) put about 864 extra residents into the parish. West Baton Rouge officials want to see economic growth in the parish along with making the parish more attractive to possible residents of surrounding parishes and areas.
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[edit] History
West Baton Rouge Parish was formed in 1807; it was named Baton Rouge Parish until 1812.
[edit] Geography
The parish has a total area of 527 km² (204 mi²). 495 km² (191 mi²) of it is land and 32 km² (12 mi²) of it (6.10%) is water.
[edit] Major Highways
[edit] Adjacent parishes
- West Feliciana Parish (north)
- East Baton Rouge Parish (east)
- Iberville Parish (southwest)
- Pointe Coupee Parish (northwest)
[edit] Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 21,601 people, 7,663 households, and 5,739 families residing in the parish. The population density was 44/km² (113/mi²). There were 8,370 housing units at an average density of 17/km² (44/mi²). The racial makeup of the parish was 62.78% White, 35.49% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. 1.45% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 7,663 households out of which 37.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.50% were married couples living together, 18.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.10% were non-families. 21.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the parish the population was spread out with 28.10% under the age of 18, 9.90% from 18 to 24, 30.60% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.40 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $37,117, and the median income for a family was $43,204. Males had a median income of $35,618 versus $22,960 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $15,773. About 13.20% of families and 17.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.20% of those under age 18 and 13.10% of those age 65 or over.
