Lafayette Parish () is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the parish had a population of 241,753, up from 221,578 at the 2010 United States census. The

parish seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...

and largest city is Lafayette. The parish was founded in 1823. Since 1996, the city and parish have operated as a consolidated government.

Etymology

The city and parish of Lafayette were named in honor of the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

, the French general who took part in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and financially aided it.

Geography

Lafayette Parish is a part of the region of

Acadiana Acadiana (; French language, French and Cajun French language, Louisiana French: ''L'Acadiane'' or ''Acadiane''), also known as Cajun Country (Cajun French language, Louisiana French: ''Pays des Cadiens''), is the official name given to the ...

in southern Louisiana, along the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the parish has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest parish in Louisiana by land area and third-smallest by total area.

Major highways

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

Interstate 49 Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway with multiple segments. The original portion is entirely within Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from Interstate 220 (Louisiana), I-220 in Shreveport, Louisian ...

U.S. Highway 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. It generally travels near Int ...

U.S. Highway 167 U.S. Route 167 is a north-south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Highway within the U.S. states of Louisiana and Arkansas. It runs for from Ash Flat, Arkansas at U.S. Route 62/U.S. Route 412 to Abbeville, Louisiana at Louis ...

* Louisiana Highway 89 * Louisiana Highway 89-1 *

Louisiana Highway 92 Louisiana Highway 92 (LA 92) is a state highway located in southern Louisiana. It runs in an east–west direction from U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) east of Mermentau to LA 339 in Youngsville. The route passes through several sma ...

* Louisiana Highway 92-1 *

Louisiana Highway 93 Louisiana Highway 93 (LA 93) is a state highway located in southern Louisiana. It runs in a southwest to northeast direction from US 90 in Scott to LA 31 in Arnaudville. The majority of the route travels north–south, conne ...

* Louisiana Highway 95 * Louisiana Highway 96 *

Louisiana Highway 182 Louisiana Highway 182 (LA 182) is a state highway located in central and southeastern Louisiana. It runs in a northwest to southeast direction from LA 29 in Whiteville to U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) north of Raceland. Along the ...

* Louisiana Highway 3025 * Louisiana Highway 3073 *

Louisiana Highway 3184 Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25th i ...

Adjacent parishes

St. Landry Parish St. Landry Parish () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 82,540. The parish seat is Opelousas. The parish was established in 1807. St. Landry Parish comprises the Opelousas, LA Micr ...

(north) * St. Martin Parish (east) *

Iberia Parish Iberia Parish (, ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 69,929; the parish seat is New Iberia. The parish was formed in 1868 during the Reconstruction era and named for Iberia. It is p ...

(southeast) *

Vermilion Parish Vermilion Parish () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, created in 1844. The parish seat is Abbeville. Vermilion Parish is part of the Lafayette metropolitan statistical area, and located in southern Acadiana. At the 2020 U.S ...

(south) *

Acadia Parish Acadia Parish () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 57,576. The parish seat and the most populous municipality is Crowley. The parish was founded from parts of St. Landry Parish in ...

(west)

National protected area

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve () protects the natural and cultural resources of Louisiana's Mississippi River Delta region. It is named after French pirate Jean Lafitte and consists of six separate sites and a park headquar ...

(part, in Lafayette)

Communities

Cities

* Broussard *

Carencro Carencro (; historically ) is a city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Lafayette. The population was 7,526 at the 2010 census, up from 6,120 in 2000; at the 2020 census, its population was 9, ...

* Lafayette (parish seat and largest municipality) *

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sas ...

* Youngsville

Town

* Duson

Unincorporated areas

= Census-designated places

= * Milton *

Ossun Ossun (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. Ossun station has rail connections to Bayonne, Bordeaux, Tarbes and Pau. Population See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department A commune is a ...

= Other communities

= *

Capitan Capitan and Kapitan are equivalents of the English Captain in other European languages. Capitan, Capitano, and Kapitan may also refer to: Places in the United States * Capitan, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Capitan, New Mexico, a villa ...

Elks The Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset (ELKS), formerly known as Linux-8086, is a Linux-like operating system kernel. It is a subset of the Linux kernel, intended for 16-bit computers with limited processor and memory resources such as machines pow ...

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins ...

* Judice * Larabee * Long Bridge * Mouton * Pilette * Pont Des Mouton *

Ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

* River Ranch *

Sadou The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or lit. 'Hot water for tea') is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . The term "Japanese tea ceremony ...

* Stekey *

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

* Walroy

Demographics

According to the 2020 United States census, there were 241,753 people, 94,490 households, and 59,937 families residing in the parish. According to the 2019

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, there were 244,390 people living in the parish. The racial and ethnic makeup of Lafayette Parish was 65.7%

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, 25.9% Black and African American, 0.2%

American Indian and Alaska Native Native Americans (also called American Indians, First Americans, or Indigenous Americans) are the Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly of the lower 48 states and Alaska. They may also include any Americans whose origins lie ...

, 1.9% Asian, 0.3% some other race, 1.5%

two or more races Multiracial Americans, also known as mixed-race Americans, are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed-race ancestry who self-identify with just one group culturally and socially (cf. t ...

, and 4.6%

Hispanic and Latino American Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spaniards, Spanish or Latin Americans, Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino (demonym), ...

of any race. In 2020, the racial and ethnic makeup was 62.24% non-Hispanic white, 25.1% Black and African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.16% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.57% multiracial or some other race, and 6.61% Hispanic or Latino American of any race. In 2019, the median age was 35.2 and 76.2% of the population were aged 18 and older; 12.7% of the population were aged 65 and older. Of its population, 4.2% were foreign born, with the majority coming from Latin America, Asia, and Europe. Among the population, 10.1% spoke another language other than English at home; Spanish was the second most-spoken language in 2019, and French was third. There were 91,543 households at the 2019 census estimates, and 44.4% were married couples living together; 8.0% of households were cohabiting couples, 17.8% male households with no female present, 12.7% single-person households, and 29.7% female households with no female present. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.22. There was an employment rate of 62.5% and 28,206 businesses operating in the parish; 5,734 businesses were minority-owned and 2,774 were veteran-owned. Out of the 102,491 housing units in 2019, the median gross rent was $874, and median housing value was $185,300. At the 2019 American Community Survey, the median household income was $56,999; males had a median income of $54,653 versus $38,378 for females. An estimated 17.3% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.

Education

Lafayette Parish School System operates public schools for the parish. Its boundaries parallel those of the parish. Lafayette Parish is home to the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a Public university, public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus Universi ...

, Louisiana's second largest public university behind

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. It is also home to the main campus of

South Louisiana Community College South Louisiana Community College (SoLAcc) is a Public college, public community college in Lafayette, Louisiana. It was established in 1997 to provide academic and vocational training. Its service area includes Acadia Parish, Louisiana, Acadia ...

(the parish is in the community college's service area), a Remington College in Lafayette, a

Blue Cliff College Blue Cliff College is a for-profit technical school that has one main campus, five branch campus locations, and two satellite branches throughout Louisiana and Mississippi. The college offers diplomas for careers in Cosmetology, Esthetics,Health ...

in Lafayette, an Aveda Institute, and a

Louisiana Technical College Louisiana Technical College (LTC) was an institute for professional technical education in the state of Louisiana, with campuses across the state. Louisiana Technical College had no affiliation to Louisiana Tech University. Transition to Louisian ...

in Lafayette.

Politics

The parish voters often supported Democratic presidential candidates before the 1970s, but the majority of conservative whites has trended Republican since that time. Before 1965 and passage of the

Voting Rights Act The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movem ...

by the U.S Congress, most African Americans were

disenfranchised Disfranchisement, also disenfranchisement (which has become more common since 1982) or voter disqualification, is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing someo ...

, as they had been since 1898, when Louisiana passed a new constitution establishing barriers to voter registration and voting. They, along with poor white voters, were excluded from the political system. After regaining the power to register and vote, black voters tended to affiliate with and support national Democratic Party candidates. The majority of the parish voted for the Republican presidential candidates from 1992 to 2020, and did so by generally increasing margins. The results in 2004 gave Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

64% of the vote and 57,732 votes while Democrat

John F. Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

won 35% of the vote and 31,210 votes. In the 2008 election Lafayette Parish cast the majority of its votes for Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

. He won 65% of the vote and 62,055 votes. Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

was strongly supported by African Americans and won 34% of the vote, some 32,145 votes.The New York Times electoral map
/ref>

Law enforcement

The Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office (LPSO) is the sheriff's department in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. The department, headed by Sheriff Mark T. Garber, consists of around 750 sworn and non-sworn employees. Although the LPSO's

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

consists of the entire parish of Lafayette, in order to not duplicate services provided by local city police, the primary patrol area is the unincorporated areas of the parish. It also runs the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center. The LPSO is CALEA (

Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) is a credentialing authority (accreditation), based in the United States, whose primary mission is to accredit public safety agencies, namely law enforcement agencies, trai ...

) accredited and has taken part in Operation FALCON. In 2003, the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office joined with the University of Louisiana to create ALETA, the Acadiana Law Enforcement Training Academy. This academy trains new LPSO deputies and UL Police officers, as well as recruits from several other police agencies in South Louisiana, to become P.O.S.T. certified law enforcement officers. The program is an eleven-week course that provides physical training and conditioning along with classroom instruction. Lafayette Parish is further served by the

Lafayette Police Department Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Police Department A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, and the Lafayette City Marshal.

National Guard

The HQ and other units of the

256th IBCT The 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team ("Louisiana Brigade") is a modular infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the Louisiana Army National Guard. It is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana. Currently the brigade is part of the 28th Infantry ...

reside in the city of

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette ( , ) is the most populous city in and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Lafayette Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located along the Vermilion River (Louisiana), Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's List of municipaliti ...

. This unit of over 3,500 Soldiers has deployed twice to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, 2004-5 and 2010. This unit has also responded to disasters such as:

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

Hurricane Gustav Hurricane Gustav () was the second most destructive tropical cyclone of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. The seventh tropical cyclone, third hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Gustav caused serious damage and Casualty (per ...

Hurricane Isaac The name Isaac (or the variant Isaack) has been used for six tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean and for one in the South Pacific Ocean, and has been used for one extratropical european windstorm. In the Atlantic: * Tropical Storm Isaac (1988) ...

, and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill.

Notable people

Lauren Daigle Lauren Ashley Daigle ( ; born September 9, 1991) is an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter. After being signed to the label Centricity Music, she released her debut album, ''How Can It Be (album), How Can It Be,'' in 2015 ...

, (born 1991), Grammy-nominated CCM singer *

Jefferson Caffery Jefferson Caffery (December 1, 1886 – April 13, 1974) was an American diplomat. He served as U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador (1926–1928), Colombia (1928–1933), Cuba (1934–1937), Brazil (1937–1944), France (1944–1949), and Egypt (1949� ...

, (1886-1974), U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, Colombia, Cuba, Brazil, France and Egypt. * Benjamin Flanders, (1816-1896), politician, Alderman of New Orleans (1847-1852), founder of the

Republican Party of Louisiana The Republican Party of Louisiana (LAGOP) (, ) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its chair is Derek Babcock who was elected in 2024. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling four of L ...

in 1864, appointed governor of Louisiana in 1867, retired in 1880s to his Ben Alva plantation here. * Jerry Luke LeBlanc (born 1956), former state legislator and vice president of administration and finance at the

. *

Alexandre Mouton Alexandre Mouton (November 19, 1804 – February 12, 1885) was a United States senator and the 11th Governor of Louisiana. Early life He was born in Attakapas district (now Lafayette Parish) into a wealthy plantation-owning Acadian fam ...

, (1804–1885), born in Attakapas,

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

and

Governor of Louisiana The governor of Louisiana (; ) is the chief executive of the U.S. state government of Louisiana. The governor also serves as the commander in chief of the Louisiana National Guard. Republican Jeff Landry has held the office since January 8, ...

. * Frank Schmitz, (1945-1966), four time NCAA champion gymnast and silver medal winner at the 1965 Trampoline World Championships. *

Fred Prejean Fredrick James Prejean Sr. (September 6, 1946 - January 27, 2022) was an American activist from Lafayette, Louisiana. Biography Early life and education Fred Prejean was born in 1946 in Lafayette, Louisiana to Oran and Edolia Prejean. He g ...

, (1946-2022) community leader and American activist. *

Dustin Poirier Dustin Glenn Poirier (born January 19, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. ...

, (born 1989), professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

Lightweight competitor and former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion.

References

External links

Lafayette Consolidated Government

Lafayette Economic Development Authority

Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission

Lafayette Public Library

Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court

Lafayette Parish American History and Genealogy Project
Geology * Heinrich, P. V., and W. J. Autin, 2000
''Baton Rouge 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle.''
Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. * Heinrich, P. V., J. Snead, and R. P. McCulloh, 2003
''Crowley 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle.''
Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. {{Coord, 30.21, -92.06, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-LA_source:UScensus1990 1823 establishments in Louisiana Parishes in Acadiana Acadiana Lafayette metropolitan area, Louisiana Populated places established in 1823