Lafayette Parish, Louisiana

Lafayette Parish, Louisiana
Lafayette Parish Courthouse
Location in the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	January 17, 1823
Named for	Marquis de la Fayette
Seat	Lafayette
Largest city	Lafayette
Area
• Total	269 sq mi (697 km2)
• Land	269 sq mi (697 km2)
• Water	0.5 sq mi (1 km2), 0.2%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	240,098
• Density	825/sq mi (319/km²)
Congressional district	3rd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.lafayettela.gov

Lafayette Parish (French: Paroisse de Lafayette) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 221,578. The parish seat is Lafayette. The parish was founded in 1823. It was 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.

Lafayette Parish is part of the Lafayette, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area and Lafayette-Opelousas-Morgan City, LA Combined Statistical Area.

See History of Lafayette, Louisiana for main article.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 269 square miles (700 km²), of which 269 square miles (700 km²) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) (0.2%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest parish in Louisiana by land area and third-smallest by total area.

This was an area of Cajun settlement and culture. According to the 2000 US Census, there were 190,503 people, 72,372 households, and 48,851 families residing in the parish. The population density was 706 people per square mile (273/km²). There were 78,122 housing units at an average density of 290 per square mile (112/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 73.36% White, 23.80% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.08% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 1.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 14.37% reported speaking French or Cajun French at home, while 1.73% speak Spanish.[1]