Baker is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in East Baton Rouge Parish. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area, and had a population of 12,455 at the 2020 census, down from 13,895 at the 2010 U.S. census.
History
Baker was named in 1888 for an early settler.
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Geography
Baker is located north of the center of East Baton Rouge Parish at (30.585637, -91.157096). It is bordered to the north by Zachary and to the south by Baton Rouge. According to the United States Census Bureau, Baker has a total area of , all land.
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census
2020 census
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Baker city, Louisiana – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!
!% 2000
!% 2010
!
|-
|White alone (NH)
|6,284
|2,781
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,672
|45.56%
|20.01%%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13.42%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|7,196
|10,712
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,212
|52.17%
|77.09%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |81.99%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|39
|44
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10
|0.28%
|0.32%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.08%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|31
|24
|style='background: #ffffe6; |24
|0.22%
|0.17%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.19%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|1
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1
|0.01%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.01%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|8
|17
|style='background: #ffffe6; |37
|0.06%
|0.12%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.30%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|115
|146
|style='background: #ffffe6; |207
|0.83%
|1.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.66%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|119
|171
|style='background: #ffffe6; |292
|0.86%
|1.23%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.34%
|-
|Total
|13,793
|13,895
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,455
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
At the 2019 American Community Survey, there were 13,437 people, 4,693 households, and 3,097 families residing in the city. As of 2010, the population density was 1,674.3 people per square mile. In 2019, there were 5,276 housing units. the racial makeup of the city was 45.97% White, 52.36% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races; Hispanic or Latin American people of any race were 0.86% of the population.
Of the 4,693 households in 2019, there were 88 males per 100 females, and the median age was 34.8 years. Approximately 12.9% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.
Baker received an influx of New Orleans residents during the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Renaissance Village (established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency) was the home to more than 3,000 evacuees, of whom more than 500 were school-age children. The large majority of the residents came from the poorest parts of New Orleans.
Government and infrastructure
The United States Postal Service operates the Baker Post Office.
The Jetson Center for Youth, a former juvenile prison operated by the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice, is located near Baker in an unincorporated area.
Baker Buffalo Festival
The Baker Buffalo Festival is held every year on the last full weekend in September. The festival was started in 1993 as a fundraiser for the schools in Baker. The schools and their organizations use the festival to raise money for their activities. The Festival Committee also makes donations to all the schools that participate. The event includes a festival, parade, Queen's pageant, and car show.
Education
Baker residents are zoned to the City of Baker School System. Baker High School is the city's high school.
Unincorporated areas with Baker addresses are within the East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools.
East Baton Rouge Parish Library operates the Baker Branch, located across from Baker High School. The library opened in Miss Angie Williams' Tea Room on June 19, 1941 and subsequently moved to a school building in 1955, a third building, and then the Baker Masonic Lodge on July 20, 1959. The current library, with of space, opened in April 2001; it was designed by Cockfield-Jackson Architects.
National Guard
Baker is home to the 926th MAC (mobility augmentation company) which is part of the 769th Engineer Battalion (combat) headquartered in Baton Rouge. These units belong to the 225th Engineer Brigade which is headquartered at Pineville on Louisiana National Guard Training Center Pineville. As of 2011 this unit has been activated for overseas deployment to a combat theater.
Notable people
<!-- Put in alphabetical order by surname -->
- Barbara West Carpenter, dean of international relations at Southern University; District 63 state representative for East Baton Rouge Parish; resides in Baker
- Don Lemon, author and journalist; graduated from Baker High School
- Tony Perkins, politician and Republican former Louisiana State Representative; resided in Baker until he relocated to Washington, D.C., to head the Family Research Council
- Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations (2021–) and former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (2013–2017); born in Baker
- Robert Tinney, Contemporary illustrator
See also
- WBRP
References
External links
- City of Baker official website
- City of Baker School System