Bridge City, Louisiana

Bridge City
Census-designated place
Country United States
State Louisiana
Parish Jefferson
Elevation 3 ft (0.9 m)
Coordinates 29°55′26″N 90°09′58″W / 29.92389°N 90.16611°WCoordinates: 29°55′26″N 90°09′58″W / 29.92389°N 90.16611°W
Area 5.3 sq mi (13.7 km2)
 - land 4.4 sq mi (11 km2)
 - water 0.9 sq mi (2 km2), 16.98%
Population 7,706 (2010)
Density 1,842.7 / sq mi (711.5 / km2)
Timezone CST (UTC-6)
 - summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Area code 504
Location of Bridge City in Louisiana
Location of Louisiana in the United States

Bridge City is an unincorporated community in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. It was established in the 1930s during the construction of the Huey P. Long Bridge over the Mississippi River. The town is located on the West Bank of the river. It is part of the New OrleansMetairieKenner Metropolitan Statistical Area.

It is also a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 7,706 at the 2010 census.[1]

Geography

Bridge City is located at 29°55′26″N 90°9′58″W / 29.92389°N 90.16611°W (29.923956, -90.166030).[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 5.3 square miles (14 km2), of which, 4.4 square miles (11 km2) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2) of it (16.73%) is water. Bridge City is the home of the Avondale Shipyard.

Demographics

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 8,323 people, 2,834 households, and 2,122 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,903.8 people per square mile (735.4/km²). There were 3,067 housing units at an average density of 701.6 per square mile (271.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 45.08% White, 47.55% African American, 0.76% Native American, 3.94% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.27% from other races, and 1.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.46% of the population.

There were 2,834 households out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.2% were married couples living together, 28.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 34.0% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $23,002, and the median income for a family was $25,620. Males had a median income of $28,329 versus $18,350 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $10,333. About 28.8% of families and 32.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.8% of those under age 18 and 16.8% of those age 65 or over.

Festivals

Bridge City is host to Louisiana's annual Gumbo Festival.

Government and infrastructure

Bridge City is an unincorporated area of Jefferson Parish. Bridge City comes under the Jefferson Parish government. Bridge City is in the Third District Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. The Bridge City Fire Department is District 70. The Bridge City Center for Youth, a juvenile correctional facility for boys operated by the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice, is in Bridge City.[3]

Education

The area's public schools are operated by the Jefferson Parish Public School System.[4]

Most areas of the city are zoned to Mildred S. Harris Elementary School (formerly Bridge City Elementary School) in Bridge City.[5] The school was given its current name, after the founding principal of the school, in 2012. Members of the family of the founding principal and former student Nedra Cassard had campaigned to have the school renamed, and the district voted in favor of renaming. The school was founded in 1952.[6] Myrtle C. Thibodeaux Elementary School (formerly Westwego Elementary School) in Westwego and Catherine Strehle Elementary School in Avondale serve portions of Bridge City.[5]

Secondary schools that serve the city include:

In regards to advanced studies academies, residents are zoned to the Marrero Academy.[9]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bridge City, Louisiana.

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Bridge City.