Lafayette Parish, Louisiana

Etymology

The city and parish of Lafayette were named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, the French general who took part in the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and financially aided it.

Geography

Lafayette Parish is a part of the region of Acadiana in southern Louisiana, along the Gulf Coast. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 269 sqmi, of which 269 sqmi is land and 0.5 sqmi (0.2%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest parish in Louisiana by land area and third-smallest by total area.

Major highways

• [[Image:I-10.svg|25px]] Interstate 10
• [[Image:I-49.svg|25px]] Interstate 49
• [[Image:US 90.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 90
• [[Image:US 167.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 167
• [[Image:Louisiana 89 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 89
• [[Image:Louisiana 89-1 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 89-1
• [[Image:Louisiana 92 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 92
• [[Image:Louisiana 92-1 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 92-1
• [[Image:Louisiana 93 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 93
• [[Image:Louisiana 95 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 95
• [[Image:Louisiana 96 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 96
• [[Image:Louisiana 182 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 182
• [[Image:Louisiana 3025 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 3025
• [[Image:Louisiana 3073 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 3073
• [[Image:Louisiana 3184 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 3184

Adjacent parishes

• St. Landry Parish (north)
• St. Martin Parish (east)
• Iberia Parish (southeast)
• Vermilion Parish (south)
• Acadia Parish (west)

National protected area

• Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (part, in Lafayette)

Communities

Cities

• Broussard
• Carencro
• Lafayette (parish seat and largest municipality)
• Scott
• Youngsville

Town

• Duson

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated places

• Milton
• Ossun

Other communities

• Capitan
• Elks
• Gloria
• Judice
• Larabee
• Long Bridge
• Mouton
• Pilette
• Pont Des Mouton
• Ridge
• River Ranch
• Sadou
• Stekey
• Vatican
• Walroy

Demographics

1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2019 | align-fn = center

Racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the parish had a population of 241,753, with a median age of 36.4 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.2 males age 18 and over. There were 97,428 households and 59,937 families residing in the parish.

Of the households, 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 42.7% were married-couple households, 19.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 107,922 housing units, of which 9.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 65.2% were owner-occupied and 34.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 12.2%.

The racial makeup of the parish was 63.4% White, 25.3% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2% Asian,

90.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 9.1% lived in rural areas.

2019 American Community Survey

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 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, Louisiana's second largest public university behind Louisiana State University. It is also home to the main campus of South Louisiana Community College (the parish is in the community college's service area), a Remington College in Lafayette, a Blue Cliff College in Lafayette, an Aveda Institute, and a Louisiana Technical College 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 by the U.S Congress, most African Americans were disenfranchised, 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 64% of the vote and 57,732 votes while Democrat John F. Kerry 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. He won 65% of the vote and 62,055 votes. Democrat Barack Obama was strongly supported by African Americans and won 34% of the vote, some 32,145 votes.

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 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) 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, University of Louisiana at Lafayette Police Department, and the Lafayette City Marshal.

National Guard

The HQ and other units of the 256th IBCT reside in the city of Lafayette, Louisiana. This unit of over 3,500 Soldiers has deployed twice to Iraq, 2004-5 and 2010. This unit has also responded to disasters such as: Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Isaac, and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill.

Notable people

• Lauren Daigle, (born 1991), Grammy-nominated CCM singer
• Jefferson Caffery, (1886-1974), U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, Colombia, Cuba, Brazil, France and Egypt.
• Gladys Clark, (1918–2011), Cajun spinner and weaver
• Benjamin Flanders, (1816-1896), politician, Alderman of New Orleans (1847-1852), founder of the Republican Party of Louisiana 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 University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
• Alexandre Mouton, (1804–1885), born in Attakapas, United States Senator and Governor of Louisiana.
• Frank Schmitz, (1945-1966), four time NCAA champion gymnast and silver medal winner at the 1965 Trampoline World Championships.
• Fred Prejean, (1946-2022) community leader and American activist.
• Dustin Poirier, (born 1989), professional mixed martial artist. Ultimate Fighting Championship Lightweight competitor and former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion.

References

References

1. "QuickFacts: Lafayette Parish, Louisiana".
2. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
4. "History". Lafayette County Sheriff's Office.
5. Gannett, Henry. (1905). "The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States". [[United States Government Publishing Office.
6. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
7. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
8. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
9. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
10. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
11. "1980 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Louisiana - Table 14 - Persons by Race and Table 15 - Total Persons and Spanish Origin Persons by Type of Spanish Origin and Race (p. 20/12-20/20)".
12. "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Louisiana - Table 6 - Race and Hispanic Origin".
13. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Lafayette Parish, Louisiana".
14. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Lafayette Parish, Louisiana".
15. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Lafayette Parish, Louisiana".
16. included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
17. included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
18. not an option in the 1980 Census
19. not an option in the 1990 Census
20. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
21. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
22. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
23. "2019 Selected Social Characteristics".
24. "Geography Profile: Lafayette Parish, Louisiana".
25. Geography Division. (December 18, 2020). "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lafayette Parish, LA". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
26. "Our Colleges". [[Louisiana's Technical and Community Colleges]].
27. [http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/ David Leip's Election Atlas]
28. [http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html?scp=1&sq=%22election%20map&st=cse The New York Times electoral map]
29. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
30. (1963). "Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896". Marquis Who's Who.