[13] A total of 285,167 people lived in East Baton Rouge Parish in 1970.

In 2023, Assumption Parish was added to the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.

[17] At the 2019 American Community Survey, the metropolitan area had an estimated population of 854,884.

The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $195,500, and 4% of its population was foreign born.

The metropolitan economy is primarily centered in the city of Baton Rouge; dominated by oil and gas companies, alongside the Louisiana State University System, the area has the furthest inland port on the Mississippi River that can accommodate ocean-going tankers and cargo carriers.

Baton Rouge also has rail, highway, pipeline, and deep-water access.

[19] Dow Chemical Company has a large plant in Iberville Parish near Plaquemine, 17 miles (27 km) south of Baton Rouge.