New Orleans to Baton Rouge distance

New Orleans to Baton Rouge by road

The fastest driving route is 79.7 miles (128 km) long and takes about 1 hr 35 min without stops or traffic. Almost all of it is on I-10: 76.5 mi of 79.7 mi.

The whole route stays in Louisiana. That’s an average of 51 mph (82 km/h), and at under two hours you can do it without stopping. The time is OSRM’s estimate with OpenStreetMap data: no traffic and speeds somewhat below the limits, so real trips can differ.

Straight-line distance and bearing

In a straight line, the shortest distance over the Earth’s surface, New Orleans and Baton Rouge are 73.1 miles (118 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 9% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 109. The route runs almost straight. Of the 110 US driving pairs in this series, it ranks 91st for detour (the average is 16%).

From New Orleans, Baton Rouge lies to the northwest (bearing 298°), and from Baton Rouge, New Orleans lies to the southeast.

Halfway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge

Halfway along the straight line, 36.5 miles (58.8 km) from each city, is the point 30.2038° N, 90.6135° W. It falls near Wallace (Louisiana, pop. 791), 12.6 mi away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is St. George (Louisiana, pop. 78,536), 27.0 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 39.9 miles (64.1 km) from each city, near Wallace (Louisiana, pop. 791), 6.8 mi away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is St. George (Louisiana, pop. 78,536), 27.0 mi away. The two midpoints are 6.6 mi apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time zone

New Orleans and Baton Rouge share the same time all year: both are on Central Time.

The two cities

New Orleans and Baton Rouge sit at almost the same elevation: 0 ft (0 m) and 46 ft (14 m).

New Orleans has 362,154 people and Baton Rouge 222,795 people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025).