Baton Rouge, LA metro: mortgages and home buyers
2025 home-purchase and refinance statistics for the 10-county Baton Rouge, LA area (OMB code 12940), from official HMDA records.
In 2025, lenders reported 7,207 home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family homes in the Baton Rouge, LA metro area. The median buyer borrowed $255,000 on a home valued at $275,000 and reported a household income of $95,000.
Buyers financed a median 96.5% of the home's value (roughly 3.5% down), paid a median 6.625% on 30-year fixed conventional loans and faced median conventional loan costs of $4,950.
Lenders denied 9.6% of completed home-purchase applications.
Key facts
- Home buyers' median income ($95,000) is 18% lower than the U.S. median ($116,000).
- Median conventional loan costs ($4,950) were 11% lower than the U.S. median ($5,570).
- FHA loans made up 35.3% of purchase mortgages, versus 21.1% nationally.
- USDA rural loans financed 7.7% of purchases.
- 23.6% of buyers put at least 20% down (financed 80% or less), compared with 38.5% nationally.
- The most common age bracket among borrowers was 25–34 (34.9% of purchase loans).
- 63.7% of purchase mortgages had a single borrower with no co-applicant.
- The most-cited reason for denial was debt-to-income ratio (39.7% of denials with a stated reason).
Counties in the metro area
| County | Purchase loans | Median loan | Buyer income | 30-yr rate | Loan costs | Conforming limit | FHA limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Baton Rouge Parish, LA | 3,511 | $255,000 | $96,000 | 6.625% | $5,040 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Livingston Parish, LA | 1,640 | $235,000 | $85,000 | 6.625% | $4,720 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Ascension Parish, LA | 1,272 | $285,000 | $112,000 | 6.625% | $4,860 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| West Baton Rouge Parish, LA | 252 | $245,000 | $93,000 | 6.625% | $4,740 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Iberville Parish, LA | 153 | $235,000 | $92,000 | 6.625% | $5,410 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Pointe Coupee Parish, LA | 107 | $235,000 | $90,000 | 6.500% | $4,660 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| East Feliciana Parish, LA | 80 | $225,000 | $104,000 | 6.562% | $4,920 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| Assumption Parish, LA | 87 | $175,000 | $86,000 | — | — | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| West Feliciana Parish, LA | 79 | $315,000 | $142,000 | 6.750% | $5,340 | $832,750 | $541,287 |
| St. Helena Parish, LA | 26 | — | — | — | — | $832,750 | $541,287 |
Who bought homes in Baton Rouge
Home-purchase mortgages for owner-occupied, single-family (1–4 unit) site-built homes, first liens, originated in 2025.
Values are medians; "middle half" is the 25th to 75th percentile.
Loan type
What the homes were for
All first-lien, closed-end purchase mortgages, including second homes and investors.
Borrower age
Debt-to-income ratio
Monthly debts (including the new payment) as a share of income, as used in underwriting.
What borrowing cost in Baton Rouge
Medians for 2025 home-purchase loans. Total loan costs are section D of the Loan Estimate/Closing Disclosure (lender and third-party loan charges, excluding taxes, prepaids and escrow). FHA and VA costs include the upfront mortgage insurance premium or VA funding fee, so compare like with like.
| Measure | Baton Rouge | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed rate · conventional | 6.625% | 6.625% |
| 30-year fixed rate · FHA | 6.375% | 6.250% |
| 30-year fixed rate · VA | 6.250% | 6.125% |
| 15-year fixed rate · conventional | 5.750% | 5.875% |
| Rate spread vs. APOR · conventional | +0.20 pts | +0.13 pts |
| Total loan costs · conventional | $4,950 | $5,570 |
| Total loan costs · FHA | $9,070 | $11,310 |
| Total loan costs · VA | $5,060 | $6,490 |
| Origination charges (all loan types) | $1,630 | $1,860 |
| Borrowers paying discount points | 52.1% | 51.3% |
| Points paid, when paid (% of loan) | 0.59% | 0.87% |
| Borrowers receiving lender credits | 27.0% | 33.1% |
| Adjustable-rate mortgages | 2.3% | 7.4% |
| Jumbo loans (above conforming limit) | 1.3% | 3.8% |
Medians are shown only when at least 30 loans report the field. Rates are those reported at closing; market rates changed during 2025, which the rate spread (APR minus the average prime offer rate on the lock date) adjusts for.
Approvals and denials
Baton Rouge: 783 of 8,201 completed home-purchase applications were denied (9.6%).
Denial rate
| Application | Baton Rouge | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | 9.6% | 8.5% |
| Conventional | 6.3% | 7.1% |
| FHA | 13.3% | 12.5% |
| VA | 11.5% | 8.0% |
| USDA | 9.4% | 12.5% |
| Refinance | 18.3% | 17.9% |
| Cash-out refinance | 46.2% | 33.6% |
Main reason for purchase denials
First reason the lender reported.
Denial rate = denied ÷ (originated + approved but not accepted + denied). Withdrawn and incomplete applications are excluded. Differences between places reflect who applies, not only lender behavior.
Refinancing in Baton Rouge
Source: FFIEC/CFPB HMDA 2025 public LAR (derived MSA/MD); OMB July 2023 delineations via the U.S. Census Bureau. Methodology