Lafayette Parish (French: Paroisse de Lafayette) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. 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 and largest city is Lafayette. The parish was founded in 1823. Since 1996, the city and parish have operated as a consolidated government.

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.

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 square miles (700 km), of which 269 square miles (700 km) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km) (0.2%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest parish in Louisiana by land area and third-smallest by total area.

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

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

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

• Duson

• Milton
• Ossun

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	5,653		—
1840	7,841		38.7%
1850	6,720		−14.3%
1860	9,003		34.0%
1870	10,388		15.4%
1880	13,235		27.4%
1890	15,966		20.6%
1900	22,825		43.0%
1910	28,733		25.9%
1920	30,841		7.3%
1930	38,827		25.9%
1940	43,941		13.2%
1950	57,743		31.4%
1960	84,656		46.6%
1970	109,716		29.6%
1980	150,017		36.7%
1990	164,762		9.8%
2000	190,503		15.6%
2010	221,578		16.3%
2020	241,753		9.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2019

Lafayette Parish racial composition as of 2020

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	150,745	62.24%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	60,677	25.1%
Native American	716	0.3%
Asian	5,212	2.16%
Pacific Islander	68	0.03%
Other/Mixed	8,622	3.57%
Hispanic or Latino	15,983	6.61%

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, there were 244,390 people living in the parish. The racial and ethnic makeup of Lafayette Parish was 65.7% non-Hispanic white, 25.9% Black and African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9% Asian, 0.3% some other race, 1.5% two or more races, and 4.6% Hispanic and Latino American 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.

Lafayette Parish School System operates public schools for 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.

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.

United States presidential election results for Lafayette Parish, Louisiana

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	72,007	64.82%	37,170	33.46%	1,909	1.72%
2020	72,519	63.32%	39,685	34.65%	2,317	2.02%
2016	68,195	64.58%	32,726	30.99%	4,682	4.43%
2012	64,992	65.89%	31,768	32.21%	1,882	1.91%
2008	62,055	64.88%	32,145	33.61%	1,442	1.51%
2004	57,732	64.20%	31,210	34.71%	981	1.09%
2000	48,491	61.94%	27,190	34.73%	2,612	3.34%
1996	36,419	48.91%	32,504	43.65%	5,545	7.45%
1992	32,406	45.16%	28,583	39.83%	10,773	15.01%
1988	36,648	59.44%	24,133	39.14%	877	1.42%
1984	44,344	68.80%	19,265	29.89%	849	1.32%
1980	31,429	58.72%	19,694	36.79%	2,403	4.49%
1976	22,805	52.19%	19,918	45.58%	976	2.23%
1972	22,939	69.10%	8,740	26.33%	1,519	4.58%
1968	10,669	35.12%	7,983	26.28%	11,723	38.59%
1964	12,398	46.11%	14,487	53.89%	0	0.00%
1960	6,047	26.66%	14,132	62.30%	2,505	11.04%
1956	6,711	57.10%	4,695	39.95%	347	2.95%
1952	6,470	50.10%	6,443	49.90%	0	0.00%
1948	2,068	27.21%	1,787	23.52%	3,744	49.27%
1944	742	13.39%	4,801	86.61%	0	0.00%
1940	1,850	22.64%	6,323	77.36%	0	0.00%
1936	306	6.28%	4,570	93.72%	0	0.00%
1932	291	6.75%	4,019	93.21%	2	0.05%
1928	592	15.62%	3,197	84.38%	0	0.00%
1924	531	28.97%	978	53.36%	324	17.68%
1920	1,045	55.94%	823	44.06%	0	0.00%
1916	73	4.52%	1,066	66.01%	476	29.47%
1912	244	23.95%	646	63.40%	129	12.66%

Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office
Common name	Sheriff's Office
Abbreviation	LPSO
Motto	"Serving the community with courtesy, professionalism, and respect."
Jurisdictional structure
Legal jurisdiction	Parish (County)
General nature	Local civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	Lafayette, Louisiana
Deputy Sheriffs	500
Unsworn employees	250
Agency executive	Mark T. Garber, Sheriff
Divisions	7 Corrections Enforcement Finance/Technology/Civil Human Resources Training/Professional Development Internal Affairs
Facilities
Stations	4
Jails	1
Patrol Cars	Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, Chevrolet Impala
Patrol Motorcycles	Harley Davidson
Website
http://www.lafayettesheriff.com/

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.

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.

• Lauren Daigle, (born 1991), Grammy-nominated CCM singer
• Jefferson Caffery, (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 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.
• Dustin Poirier, (born 1989), professional mixed martial artist. Ultimate Fighting Championship Lightweight competitor and former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion.

• Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana

• 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.

30°13′N 92°04′W / 30.21°N 92.06°W / 30.21; -92.06