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Baton Rouge didn’t crack the Top 100 in a recent national ranking of best major cities to call home.
Even so, one mayoral candidate sees coming in at No. 125 as an accolade, while the other sees it as another sign that Baton Rouge badly needs transformation.
The two shared with Daily Report their views of the recent 2025-2026 Best Places to Live in the U.S. list published by U.S. News & World Report. The report highlights 150 major cities chosen for their value, job market, quality of life and desirability.
A February survey, where people across the country ranked the factors they value most, determined each category’s importance. The report details the quality of life, value and overall score for each city, with 10 being the highest possible score.
Baton Rouge is the third of four Louisiana cities ranked on the list. Baton Rouge is No. 125, with an overall score of 5.8 out of 10. The city scored a 5.6 in quality of life and 6.6 in value.
Lafayette is the highest-ranked city in Louisiana at No. 84, with a 6.2 score. Shreveport is next at No. 111 with a 5.9 score. In Louisiana, Baton Rouge only beat out New Orleans, at No. 140, with a score of 5.5 out of 10.
Also key is that many of the cities that Baton Rouge considers peer cities or have been a destination for the Baton Rouge Area Chamber canvas trips all cracked the top 10, including Greenville, South Carolina; Huntsville, Alabama; and Austin, Texas. At the top of the list is Naples, Florida, with a score of 7.1.
Mayor Sharon Weston Broome says she’s “proud to see Baton Rouge ranked one of the four Louisiana cities named in the Top 150 Best Places to Live in the United States,” noting other rankings from WalletHub last year of No. 20 among the Best Run City honorees, as well as a No. 89 placement in the America’s Best Cities ranking by WorldsBestCities.com.
“There is no question in my mind that our greatest draw is our people, whom I would rank No. 1 in the nation,” Broome says. “Every day, I work alongside other Baton Rouge residents who, like me, are committed to making this the greatest mid-sized city in America, so I have no doubt we will continue to see our rankings rise.”
But Edwards sees the comparative ranking differently.
“That’s not very good,” he tells Daily Report. “To me as a coach, if there are 150 teams in my space that I’m competing against and I finish 125, it’s not good. We want to be in the Top 10. I think that’s fair to start. That’s my goal as mayor-president. I don’t want to be 125.”
