Baton Rouge, French: Bâton-Rouge (pronounced /ˈbætn ˈɹuːʒ/ in English, and in French) is historically the second largest city in Louisiana behind New Orleans but the effects of Hurricane Katrina have, at least temporarily, reduced the population of New Orleans such that Baton Rouge is currently larger than New Orleans. Baton Rouge is also capital of the State of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish. In June 2005, East Baton Rouge Parish contained 412,000 residents.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 204.8 km² (79.1 mi²). 199.0 km² (76.8 mi²) of it is land and 5.7 km² (2.2 mi²) of it (2.81%) is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 227,818 people, 88,973 households, and 52,672 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,144.7/km² (2,964.7/mi²). There were 97,388 housing units at an average density of 489.4/km² (1,267.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 50.02% African American, 45.70% White, 0.18% Native American, 2.62% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.72% of the population.