Lafayette, Louisiana

Information about Lafayette, Louisiana

























































City of Lafayette
City |
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Downtown Lafayette
Downtown Lafayette
Flag |
Logo |
Nickname|: Hub City
Motto|: The Heart of Cajun Country
Country |United States
State |Louisiana
Parish |Lafayette
Area |47.7 mi (0 km)
 - land47.6 mi (0 km)
 - water0.1 mi (0 km), 0%
 - metro5,252 mi (0 km)
Center |
 - coordinatesCoordinates:
 - elevation36 ft (0 m)
Population |110,275 (2000)
 - metro512,720 (2000)
Density2,316.7 /mi (0 /km)
 - metro0 /mi (0 /km)
Founded |1821
Mayor |Joey Durel
Time zone |CST (UTC-6)
 - summer (DST)CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes |70501, 70503, 70506-8
Area code |337
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Location of Lafayette in Louisiana
Location of Lafayette in Louisiana
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Location of Louisiana in the United States
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Website: [1]


Lafayette is a city on the Vermilion River in Lafayette Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. [1] [2] Lafayette is the parish seat. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 110,257; a 2004 census estimate put the metro area's population at 246,160. It is the fourth largest incorporated city in the state. It is the principal city of the Lafayette-Acadiana, LA Combined Statistical Area, which, in 2006, had an estimated total population of 537,947.

The city was founded as Vermilionville in 1821 by a French-speaking Acadian named Jean Mouton. In 1884, it was renamed for the Marquis de Lafayette, who assisted the United States during its Revolutionary War. The city's economy was primarily based on agriculture until the 1940s, when the petroleum and natural gas industry became dominant.

Lafayette has a strong tourism industry, attracted by the Cajun and Creole cultures of the surrounding region. It has one of the highest restaurant counts per capita of cities in the area.
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Village of River Ranch
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University of Louisiana-Lafayette
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St John’s Cathedral

Geography

Lafayette is located at (30.213901, -92.029363)GR1 and has an elevation of GR3.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 123.5 km² (47.7 mi²). 123.3 km² (47.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.19%) is water.

The Vermilion River runs through the center of Lafayette. Other significant waterways in the city are Isaac Verot Coulee, Coulee Mine, Coulee des Poches and Coulee Ile Des Cannes, which are natural drainage canals that lead to the Vermilion River.

Demographics

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Isaac Verot Coulee
The estimated metro-area population of the Lafayette-Acadiana area for 2006 is 537,947 [3] (including the metro area outside Lafayette).

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 110,257 people,[2] 43,506 households, and 27,104 families residing in the city of Lafayette only. The population density was 894.5/km² (2,316.7/mi²). There were 46,865 housing units at an average density of 380.2/km² (984.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.23% White, 28.51% African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.44% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.58% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.88% of the population.

Lafayette is the only major city in Louisiana to be growing in population instead of shrinking (even before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita). However, according to a 2005 estimate, Lake Charles, Louisiana has resumed growing once again after a slight loss of .03 % between 1990 and 2000.

There were 43,506 households, out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. Nearly 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,996, and the median income for a family was $47,783. Males had a median income of $37,729 versus $23,606 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,031. About 11.6% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over. In the 1970s, Lafayette had the distinction of having more millionaires per capita than any other city in the United States, thanks mostly to the oil industry.

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Lafayette [lower right] is west of Baton Rouge, south of Alexandria, east of Lake Charles and north of New Iberia. Roads also lead to Opelousas, Crowley and Abbeville.

Education

Public Schools Private Schools University and colleges Public Library System

Health and medicine

Lafayette is served by the following hospitals.

Sports

Lafayette is home to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, the athletic teams of The University of Louisiana at Lafayette. It is also home to the Lafayette Bayou Bulls semi-pro football program which started in 2003. Between the years of 1995 and 2005, Lafayette was home to the Louisiana IceGators ECHL hockey team.

Sports venues:

Military

Lafayette is the home of the National Guard headquarters of the 256th Infantry Brigade, a military unit of over 3,000 soldiers that served in Iraq in the years of 2004-5.

Government and politics

Since the consolidation of city and parish governments, Lafayette has had a city-parish president as its chief executive, rather than a mayor as it had previously. The current Republican city-parish president is Joey Durel. As the largest city in the seventh congressional district of Louisiana, it overwhelmingly supported U.S. representative Charles Boustany in his races in 2004 and 2006; he is a citizen of Lafayette. In 2004, residents of Lafayette cast 57,000 ballots for George W. Bush and 31,000 for John F. Kerry. According to the Bay City Center for Voting Research, Lafayette is the ninth most conservative city in the nation.[4]

Notable local politicians Lafayette is also home to a branch of the AmeriCorps State program ([2] UL AmeriCorps is associated with the University of Louisiana and employs about 40 students who perform either 900 or 400 hours of community service in 11 months. ([3]

Media

Print
  • The Daily Advertiser, daily newspaper
  • The Independent Weekly, weekly newspaper
  • The Times of Acadiana, weekly newspaper
  • The Vermillion, UL Lafayette student newpaper
Television
Lafayette is home to KATC-TV, Channel 3, an (ABC) affiliate, KLFY-TV Channel 10 (CBS), KADN-TV, Channel 15 (Fox), and KLWB, Channel 50 (CW). KPLC-TV, Channel 7 and WVLA, Channel 33, are NBC affiliates, located in nearby Lake Charles and Baton Rouge, respectively, but serve Lafayette as well.

Radio
  • List of Lafayette radio stations

Points of interest

Events

Transportation

Lafayette is also served by U.S. Routes 90 (known as the Evangeline Thruway for part of its route) and 167 (also known as Johnston Street). Ambassador Caffery Parkway, named for Jefferson Caffery, serves as a partially completed loop around Lafayette. Other Arterial Roads serving Lafayette include Verot School Road (LA 339), Congress Street, Kaliste Saloom Road (LA 3095), Carmel Dr. (LA 94), University Avenue (LA 182), and Pinhook Road (LA 182).

Notable residents

Natives
Some of the notable people born in Lafayette: Residents
Other notable residents of Lafayette:
For more details on this topic, see .

References

1. ^ "Lafayette, Louisiana (LA) Detailed Profile" (notes), City Data, 2007, webpage: C-Lafyt.
2. ^ "Census 2000 Data for the State of Louisiana" (town list), US Census Bureau, May 2003, webpage: C2000-LA.
3. ^ "Demographia United States Metropolitan Areas: 2000-2006" webpage: Demogr-metmic: lists "Lafayette-Acadiana, LA. 512726. 537947. 25221. 4.9%" (increase of 25221 people or 4.9% growth).
4. ^ Bay City Center for Voting Research

External links

  •  • [ e] Municipalities and communities of
Lafayette Parish, Louisiana
Parish seat: Lafayette
Cities Lafayette | Scott | Youngsville
Towns Broussard | Carencro | Duson
Unincorporated communities Milton
 •  • [ e]
State of Louisiana
Baton Rouge (capital)
History | Louisianans | Constitution | Governors | Lieutenant Governors | Attorneys General | Legislature | Supreme Court
Regions Acadiana | Central Louisiana | Florida Parishes | Greater New Orleans | North Louisiana
Cities Alexandria | Baton Rouge | Bossier City | Houma | Kenner | Lafayette | Lake Charles | Monroe | New Iberia | New Orleans | Opelousas | Ruston | Shreveport | Slidell | Sulphur
CDPs Chalmette | Harvey | LaPlace | Marrero | Metairie | Terrytown
Metros Alexandria | Baton Rouge | Houma‑Bayou Cane‑Thibodaux | Lafayette | Lake Charles | Monroe | New Orleans | Shreveport‑Bossier City
Parishes Acadia | Allen | Ascension | Assumption | Avoyelles | Beauregard | Bienville | Bossier | Caddo | Calcasieu | Caldwell | Cameron | Catahoula | Claiborne | Concordia | De Soto | East Baton Rouge | East Carroll | East Feliciana | Evangeline | Franklin | Grant | Iberia | Iberville | Jackson | Jefferson | Jefferson Davis | La Salle | Lafayette | Lafourche | Lincoln | Livingston | Madison | Morehouse | Natchitoches | Orleans | Ouachita | Plaquemines | Pointe Coupee | Rapides | Red River | Richland | Sabine | St. Bernard | St. Charles | St. Helena | St. James | St. John the Baptist | St. Landry | St. Martin | St. Mary | St. Tammany | Tangipahoa | Tensas | Terrebonne | Union | Vermilion | Vernon | Washington | Webster | West Baton Rouge | West Carroll | West Feliciana | Winn
List of incorporated cities, towns, and villages in Louisiana, arranged in alphabetical order.

Cities

  • Abbeville
  • Alexandria
  • Baker
  • Bastrop
  • Baton Rouge
  • Bogalusa
  • Bossier City
  • Breaux Bridge
  • Broussard
  • Bunkie
  • Carencro

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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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Lafayette Parish (French: Paroisse de Lafayette) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lafayette. In 2006, its population was estimated to be 203,091.

Geography

The parish has a total area of 700 km² (270 mi²).
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square mile is an imperial and US unit of area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. It should not be confused with the archaic miles square, which refers to the number of miles on each side squared.
..... Click the link for more information.
Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
  • 1,000,000 m²
  • 100 ha (hectare)
Conversely:
  • 1 m² = 0.

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square mile is an imperial and US unit of area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. It should not be confused with the archaic miles square, which refers to the number of miles on each side squared.
..... Click the link for more information.
Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
  • 1,000,000 m²
  • 100 ha (hectare)
Conversely:
  • 1 m² = 0.

..... Click the link for more information.
square mile is an imperial and US unit of area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. It should not be confused with the archaic miles square, which refers to the number of miles on each side squared.
..... Click the link for more information.
Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
  • 1,000,000 m²
  • 100 ha (hectare)
Conversely:
  • 1 m² = 0.

..... Click the link for more information.
square mile is an imperial and US unit of area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. It should not be confused with the archaic miles square, which refers to the number of miles on each side squared.
..... Click the link for more information.
Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
  • 1,000,000 m²
  • 100 ha (hectare)
Conversely:
  • 1 m² = 0.

..... Click the link for more information.
geographic coordinate system enables every location on the earth to be specified by the three coordinates of a spherical coordinate system aligned with the spin axis of the Earth.
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1 foot =
SI units
0 m 0 mm
US customary / Imperial units
0 yd 0 in
A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′
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1 metre =
SI units
1000 mm 0 cm
US customary / Imperial units
0 ft 0 in
The metre or meter[1](symbol: m) is the fundamental unit of length in the International System of Units (SI).
..... Click the link for more information.
square mile is an imperial and US unit of area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. It should not be confused with the archaic miles square, which refers to the number of miles on each side squared.
..... Click the link for more information.
Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
  • 1,000,000 m²
  • 100 ha (hectare)
Conversely:
  • 1 m² = 0.

..... Click the link for more information.
square mile is an imperial and US unit of area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. It should not be confused with the archaic miles square, which refers to the number of miles on each side squared.
..... Click the link for more information.
Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
  • 1,000,000 m²
  • 100 ha (hectare)
Conversely:
  • 1 m² = 0.

..... Click the link for more information.
Lester Joseph "Joey" Durel, Jr. (born April 3, 1953), rocketed to local political prominence when in 2003, he became the second Republican elected as mayor of Lafayette, Louisiana, and the second person elected as "mayor-president" of the combined City of Lafayette and Lafayette
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Central Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC during standard time (UTC−6) and five hours during daylight saving time (UTC−5). The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 90th degree meridian west of the Greenwich
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Areas using UTC−6

Single zone countries
  • Belize
  • Costa Rica
  • El Salvador
  • Guatemala
  • Honduras
  • Nicaragua
Multizoned countries
  • Canada, United States (Central Standard Time/Mountain Daylight Time)

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Central Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC during standard time (UTC−6) and five hours during daylight saving time (UTC−5). The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 90th degree meridian west of the Greenwich
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UTC−5 is the time offset used in the North American Central Time Zone during Daylight Saving Time.

For North America see also Eastern Standard Time and Central Daylight Time.
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Area code 337 is a telephone area code that covers southernwestern Louisiana. In 1999/2000, this 337 area code was split off from the southern half of the original area code 318, which had covered the western half of Louisiana.
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city is an urban settlement with a particularly important status which differentiates it from a town.

City is primarily used to designate an urban settlement with a large population. However, city may also indicate a special administrative, legal, or historical status.
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Vermilion River

Vermilion River in Abbeville.


Country | United States
State | Louisiana
Major city | Lafayette, LA


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Lafayette Parish (French: Paroisse de Lafayette) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lafayette. In 2006, its population was estimated to be 203,091.

Geography

The parish has a total area of 700 km² (270 mi²).
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United States of America

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