During some of the darkest weeks in New Orleans history, Baton Rouge served as a stronghold for a city ravaged by one of the most destructive storms in U.S. history.
 
In some cases, entire businesses from New Orleans came to the capital city, like Chinese Combo King, which is now located on West Chimes Street.
Despite the relative setback of waiting two years for a parking lot, the business is here permanently, said owner Alice Lo.
 
“The people and students, everyone is so nice,” Lo said.
 
Baton Rouge was not prepared for the massive influx of refugees from New Orleans, but the city has remained resilient in many ways.
 
Since July 2005, the Baton Rouge metro area has gained 24,400 jobs, a 7.2 percent increase, according to Baton Rouge Area Chamber statistics. The area has also become home to 21,372 new businesses, a 33.9 percent increase, according the release.
 
Other statistical indicators show Baton Rouge is stronger economically now than it was before Katrina. Average wages have increased 25 percent between the first quarter of 2005 and the first quarter of 2009, according to BRAC data. The nine-parish area’s sales tax collections from 2005 to 2009 have increased 19.1 percent. The average home sale price has increased 16.2 percent.
 
This is due partly to a $2.40 increase in federal minimum wage levels since Katrina.
 
BRAC reports the post-Katrina economic effects safeguarded the area from the most damaging aspects of the recession, even though acute economic pressure was felt after the storm. BRAC expects 1 to 2 percent job growth to continue for the capital region in 2010.
 
“These data match our own anecdotal experience that the market’s confidence in investing in the nine-parish Baton Rouge area was improved post-storm,” Adam Knapp, BRAC President and CEO, said in a news release last week.
 
The storm imbued business owners with a sense of cooperation and acted as a regional suture between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
 
“For the first time the Baton Rouge and New Orleans business communities are sitting down talking about what they can do together,” Knapp said. “We are literally forging relationships across two regions. That would have been hard to imagine five years ago.”
 
Another post-Katrina increase came in local crime rates.
 
“There was a brief upsurge in certain crimes late 2005 and 2006, some of which could certainly be attributable to the population increase resulting from Katrina,” said Sgt. Don Kelly, Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman.
 
The Baton Rouge metro area’s population has grown from 706,909 in 2005 to 786,947 in 2009, an increase of 11.3 percent, according to BRAC.
 
“We must be very careful when trying to do any comparisons or draw any meaningful conclusions between pre-Katrina and post-Katrina crime statistics,” Kelly said.
 
 
 
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Contact Andrew Cavazos at [email protected]