ZIP Code 70501

Lafayette (, French: [lafajt]) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th-most populous in the United States. The Lafayette metropolitan area was Louisiana's third largest metropolitan statistical area with a population of 478,384 at the 2020 census. The Acadiana region containing Lafayette is the largest population and economic corridor between Houston, Texas and New Orleans. The city was originally established as Vermilionville in the 1820s and incorporated in 1836. Lafayette developed as an agricultural community until the introduction of retail and entertainment centers in the 1940s. Since the discovery of oil, the city has had the highest number of workers in the oil and natural gas industry in Louisiana as of 2018. Notable corporations with headquarters or a large presence in the Lafayette area have included Amazon, Brookshire Grocery Company, CGI, JP Morgan Chase, Ochsner Health System, Petroleum Helicopters International, and Rouses Markets. In 2014, Lafayette was named the "Happiest City in America" The city and region's cultural icons include Alexandre Mouton House, Brandt House, Charles H. Mout on House, the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, Daigle House, First United Methodist Church, Holy Rosary Institute, Hope Lodge No. 145, and Old Lafayette City Hall. Its educational institutions include the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, South Louisiana Community College, and Remington College.

Etymology

Lafayette is named after Marquis de Lafayette. The city was originally founded in 1821 as Vermilionville. Little is known about early settlements or if the area had a different name prior to European colonization. It is located on the banks of the Mississippi River, which flows through the center of the city. It was named after the Marquis of Lafayette, who died in 1799. The town was originally known as Vermilionville, after the French town of the same name. The name was changed to Lafayette in 1822 by the city's first mayor, William Lafayette. It has since been known as Lafayette since 1821 by the citizens of the town and the city of Lafayette in the state of New York. It also was known as Vermilionville before the city was founded. It's now called Lafayette by the town's current mayor, Bill de Lafayette, and was originally called Vermionville by the people of the area before the town was established. The current name for the city is Lafayette, which means "loyalty" or "friendship" in French. The word Lafayette is also used in the U.S. to refer to people who have served in the military. It means "friend" in English and "lover" in Spanish, which is a common name in the area.

History

The Attakapa Native Americans inhabited this area at the time of the first European encounter. In the mid-to-late eighteenth century, numerous Acadian refugees settled in this area, forming what became known as Cajun culture. The city and parish economy continued to be based on agriculture into the early 20th century. After oil was discovered in the parish, the petroleum and natural gas industries expanded to dominate the economy. Lafayette has hosted the Festivals Acadiens et Créoles, and was candidate as site for the New Orleans Pelicans NBA G League team in 2017. In 2015, the city of Lafayette gained international attention for a mass shooting and murder-suicide at Grand 16 Theater. Since the beginning of the 21st century, a committee proposed the deconsolidation of the city and Parish. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette was established in the city as the Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute in 1901. It opened in 1901, and changed its name to the University of Southwest Louisiana in 1960. The university's current name was chosen in 1999, and it is now known as the Lafayette University. The Lafayette metropolitan area also overtook the ShreveportBossier City metropolitan area by population, becoming Louisiana's third largest metropolitan region. In 2018, Lafayette had the highest number of oil andnatural gas industry workers in the state. The area was initially developed by Europeans for agriculture, primarily sugar plantations, which depended on the labor of numerous enslaved Africans and African Americans. After the American Civil War, most of the labor was done by freedmen, who worked as sharecroppers.

Geography

Lafayette is located in southern Louisiana's Acadiana region on the Gulf Coast of the United States. The city has an elevation ranging from 36 feet (11.0 m) to 49 feet (15 m) above sea level. Lafayette has a collection of more than eight downtown structures listed within the National Register of Historic Places. Downtown Lafayette landmarks include Old Lafayette City Hall and the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist. The attempted construction of new high-rises within the heart of the city followed efforts to redevelop the downtown area in the 2010s and attract further residents. In October 2021, it was announced only one high-rise tower would be constructed citing lack of interest in condominiums within the area; the project was halted in January 2022 citing further difficulties. Lafayette's climate is described as humid subtropical using Köppen climate classification. It has year-round precipitation, especially during summertime. Lafayette does not suffer significant flooding problems, outside of local flash flooding. The Lafayette area is part of the southwestern Louisiana Prairie Terrace; it is higher and not made of wetlands like much of the surrounding areas to the south and west of Lafayette. Lafayette lies approximately 135 miles (217 km) from New Orleans, 59 miles (95km) from the state capital of Baton Rouge, 75 miles (121 km)from Lake Charles, and 89 miles (143 kilometers) from Alexandria. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 55.65 square miles (144.1 km²), of which 0.08 sq mi (0.21 km²) (0.19 percent) is covered by water.

Demographics

Since 1860, Lafayette has grown from 498 to 121,374 residents at the 2020 U.S. census. Since early settlement, the racial and ethnic makeup of the city has been predominantly non-Hispanic or Latino white, Black or African American, multiracial, and Asian. English, French, and Spanish were the most spoken languages at home among the native and foreign-born populations. Lafayette has maintained a substantial lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community since at least 1969. The area's LGBT population have described Acadiana as "welcoming," though some members of the community in the 1970s declined to be photographed at public and private LGBT events. The city had an employment rate of 60.4 percent, up from the state's 55.4% from 2014 to 2019. The Catholic Church was the single largest Christian denomination with a reported 212,013 adherents, and Protestants were the largest collective Christian group. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana was founded in 1918 and see is the Saint John the Evangelist Cathedral of the National Baptist Convention. Within the local Protestant traditions, Baptists have the primary historic Protestant body; the city's historically Black orAfrican American Baptist denomination has also been the Christ of God Church in Christ. In 2020, the median income for a family was $54,139 in 2020 and Lafayettiens had a mean household income of $79,216; among non-family households, the Median income stood at $34,588.

Economy

As of 2021, the consolidated cityparish's top employers have been the Lafayette Parish School System, Lafayette General Health, Wood Group Production Services, Lafayette Consolidated Government, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, WHC, Inc., Walmart, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, Schlumberger, and Stuller, Inc. As one of the primary employers in Lafayette, the local university has made a statewide impact of $379 million in 2015. Prominent corporations with headquarters or a large presence in Lafayette have included or currently include Albertsons, Amazon, Brookshire Grocery Company, CGI, First Horizon Bank, JP Morgan Chase, LUSFiber, the Ochsner Health System, Petroleum Helicopters International, Perficient, and Rouses Markets. Other notable corporations stimulating the city and metropolitan economies have been Lowe's, Costco, and various national retail and department stores in the Mall of Acadiana. According to Forbes, it was #25 in the cost of doing business, #200 in job growth, and #175 in education nationwide. Per U.S. News & World Report, its cost of living has contributed to it being ranked as the second best place to live in Louisiana. In 2018, Lafayette was also ranked one ofThe best places to retire in Louisiana according to Forbes in 2018, and it was ranked #25 for businesses and careers in 2019. The city and its metropolitan area became major centers for technology, health care and social services, aerospace, banking and retail from the latter 20th- and early 21st centuries.

Culture

Lafayette has a large Creole, Cajun, and substantial foreign-born population. More than 36% of foreigners came from Asia from 2014 to 2019. Acadiana Symphony Orchestra and Conservatory of Music, Chorale Acadienne, Lafayette Ballet Theatre and Dance Conservatory, the Lafayette Concert Band, and Performing Arts Society of Acadiana. Lafayette has hosted Tyler Perry's Madea's Farewell play in 2019. The 2018 television film, The Christmas Contract, set in Lafayette, features many Caj un Christmas customs. The city has been regarded as having the fourth-most restaurants per capita in Louisiana since 2015. It is home to the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum, Acadiana Center for the Arts and Heymann Performing arts Center. It also hosts Le Festival de Mardi Gras à Lafayette and the Boudin Cookoff and Bacon Fest. It has been named one of the best cities in the United States to live in by CNN.com's "America's Best City" list. It was named the No. 1 city in the U.S. in 2014 and 2015 by the magazine "The New Orleans Times-Picayune" The city is located in Acadiana, Louisiana, which is part of the state of Louisiana. The Lafayette metropolitan area has a population of 14,676, with more than half of its residents born outside of the United Kingdom. The town is located on the banks of the Red River, which flows into the Mississippi River.

Sports

Lafayette is home to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, the athletic teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Lafayette was home to minor-league baseball teams in various seasons from 1907 to 2000. The Lafayette SwampCats (1997-1999) and Lafayette Swamp Cats (2000-2004) soccer teams played in the city. The Cajun Soccer Club of the Gulf Coast Premier League was founded in 2013; Louisiana Krewe FC played in Gulf Coast League before joining USL League Two for its 2022 season. In 2009, the IceGators returned as a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League until 2016. Lafayette teams played at Parkdale Park (1934-1942), Clark Field (1945-1957, 1975-1976) and Tigue Moore Field (1998-2000) Lafayette was an affiliate of the St. Louis Browns 1936-1941, Chicago Cubs (1955-1957) and San Francisco Giants (1975-1976) The Lafayette Browns (1907), Lafayette Hubs (1920), Lafayette White Sox (1936-1942) and Bayou Bulls (1948-1953) all played in Lafayette. The teams were members of the Louisiana State League (1920) and Evangeline League (19 341942, 1948-1957), Texas League (1975 1976) and Texas-Louisiana League (1998 2000) Lafayette teams were part of the New Orleans Red Sox organization from 1936 to 1948. The Louisiana IceGator ECHL hockey team was based in Lafayette from 1995 to 2005.

Government

Lafayette has a consolidated cityparish government, known as the Lafayette Consolidated Government. The consolidation of the city and parish has been the subject of continuous public debate over the years. In 2021, the city council passed a resolution calling for another charter commission to look at amendments to the charter and, if necessary, deconsolidation. The city of Lafayette is primarily served by the Lafayette Police Department, though the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office, Lafayette City Marshal, and University of Louisiana Police Department maintain jurisdiction throughout the city. Lafayette is home to a regional office of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, and the headquarters of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana. The LPSS operates independently of any municipality, and its jurisdiction is coterminous with Lafayette Parish. In 2020, Lafayette experienced 712 violent crimes up from 664 in 2019. In 2018 the city experienced 9 homicides, and 17 in 2020. Altogether, Lafayette ranked as the 20th safest city overall in Louisiana, and the safest of Louisiana's four largest municipalities in 2021. The state agency that oversees preservation and documentation of Louisiana French for tourism, economic development, culture, education and the development of international relations with other Francophone regions and countries. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana says Lafayette is one of the safest cities in the United States, with a homicide rate of 9 per 100,000 people in 2018. In 2019, there were 195 homicides in New Orleans, and 100 in Baton Rouge.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Lafayette, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana = 50.2. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 10. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 100. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Lafayette = 5.9 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 121,374 individuals with a median age of 34.6 age the population grows by 2.30% in Lafayette, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,170.57 residents per square mile of area (838.07/km²). There are average 2.34 people per household in the 46,130 households with an average household income of $44,454 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 5.50% of the available work force and has dropped -4.18% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 26.14%. The number of physicians in Lafayette per 100,000 population = 295.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Lafayette = 60.3 inches and the annual snowfall = 0.3 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 109. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 217. 91 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 42 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 27, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Lafayette, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana which are owned by the occupant = 53.49%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 32 years with median home cost = $158,400 and home appreciation of 1.78%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $1.98 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,030 per student. There are 15.4 students for each teacher in the school, 388 students for each Librarian and 473 students for each Counselor. 3.79% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 21.91% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 10.04% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).