Lafayette, Louisiana

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City of Lafayette
City
none Downtown Lafayette
Downtown Lafayette
Flag
Nickname : Hub City
Motto : The Heart of Cajun Country
Country United States
State Louisiana
Parish Lafayette
Area 47.7 sq mi (123.5 km²)
 - land 47.6 sq mi (123.3 km²)
 - water 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km²), 0.21%
 - metro 5,252 sq mi (13,602.6 km²)
Center
 - coordinates 30°12′50″N 92°01′46″W / 30.21389, -92.02944Coordinates: 30°12′50″N 92°01′46″W / 30.21389, -92.02944
 - elevation 36 ft (11 m)
Population 110,275 (2000)
 - metro 512,720 (2000)
Density 2,316.7 /sq mi (894.5 /km²)
 - metro 98 /sq mi (37.8 /km²)
Founded 1821
Mayor Joey Durel
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 - summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 70501-9, 70593, 70596, 70598
Area code 337
Location of Lafayette in Louisiana
Location of Lafayette in Louisiana
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Website : http://www.lafayettela.gov

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 2006 census estimate put the metro area's population at 254,432, while in the same year, a census estimate put the city's population at 114,214. 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 General Lafayette, a French military hero who fought with and significantly aided the American Army during the American Revolutionary War. [3] 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. Because of the Cajun culture's affinity for good food, it has one of the highest numbers of restaurants per capita of any U.S. city.


St John’s Cathedral
St John’s Cathedral

Contents

[edit] Geography

Lafayette is located at 30°12′50″N, 92°1′46″W (30.213901, -92.029363)[4] and has an elevation of 36 feet (11.0 m)[5].

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

[edit] Demographics

Isaac Verot Coulee
Isaac Verot Coulee

The estimated population of the Lafayette-Acadiana metropolitan area for 2006 was 537,947 [6] .

As of the census[7] 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 2,316.7 people per square mile (894.5/km²). There were 46,865 housing units at an average density of 984.7/sq mi (380.2/km²). 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 one of the only large cities in Louisiana to be growing in population instead of shrinking; this was the case even before the devastation wreaked by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. (In fact, it was the sole large city to be growing until a 2005 estimate revealed that the city of Lake Charles had resumed its population growth after an earlier slight decline.)

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.

[edit] Education

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Public Schools

Private Schools

University and colleges

Public Library System

[edit] Health and medicine

Lafayette is served by the following hospitals.

[edit] 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:

[edit] 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 2004-2005.

[edit] 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 and the fourth most conservative city in the South.[8]

Notable local politicians

Lafayette is also home to a branch of the AmeriCorps State program (http://www.americorps.org/). 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. (http://americorps.louisiana.edu/)

[edit] Media

Print

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

[edit] Points of interest

Events

[edit] Retail and Shopping

Lafayette serves as the retail and shopping hub of the Acadiana area, serving an eight parish area. The seat of this retail is the Mall of Acadiana. The mall features department stores Macy's, Dillards, JC Penney, and Sears. It also includes over 100 specialty stores, such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Talbots, Chico's, Nine West, and Coldwater Creek. Other retailers/stores that have recently located in Lafayette include Kohl's, Incredible Pizza Co., and Plato's Closet. Academy Sports and Outdoors recently built a new building for its Lafayette location to become one of the largest stores in the Academy chain.

[edit] 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).

[edit] Notable residents

Natives
Some of the notable people born in Lafayette:

Residents
Other notable current and former residents of Lafayette:

For more details on this topic, see List of University of Louisiana at Lafayette people.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Lafayette, Louisiana (LA) Detailed Profile" (notes), City Data, 2007, webpage: C-Lafyt.
  2. ^ a b "Census 2000 Data for the State of Louisiana" (town list), US Census Bureau, May 2003, webpage: C2000-LA.
  3. ^ Niles' Weekly Register, BALTIMORE, June 26,1824; LAFAYETTE
  4. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  6. ^ "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).
  7. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  8. ^ Bay City Center for Voting Research

[edit] External links

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Lafayette Parish, Louisiana
Parish seat: Lafayette
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