Welcome to Lafayette ...
The city of Lafayette is located in Lafayette Parish<1> and is the Parish Seat for Lafayette Parish.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Lafayette, you might consider that their post office opened in 1884.
When the people of Lafayette refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Lafayettean<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Lafayette has a population of 126,306 people<3> (see below for details).
Lafayette is 30 feet [9 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Lafayette lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
The telephone area code for Lafayette: (337)
The ZIP codes for Lafayette: 70067, 70501-70509, 70593, 70596, 70598<5>
Websites for Lafayette ...
Official Website: www.lafayettela.gov/
Chamber of Commerce: www.lafchamber.org/
Junior League: juniorleagueoflafayette.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Lafayette had an population of 126,306 people. This is an increase of 4.71% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 14.56% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Lafayette had a population of 120,623 people (or 54.44% of the total population of Lafayette Parish). This makes Lafayette the parish's most populous community.
The population of Lafayette represents 2.66% of the population of Louisiana (which has 4,533,372 people), making it the state's 4th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 120,623 people, the population of Lafayette increased 9.4% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 110,257 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Lafayette.
Communities Also Named Lafayette ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two Louisiana communities named Lafayette: This one is located in Lafayette Parish and the other is located in Orleans Parish.
Beyond Louisiana, there are 38 communities that are also named Lafayette - they are located in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa (2), Kansas (2), Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio (5), Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania (2), Rhode Island, Tennessee (2), Texas (2), Virginia (2) and West Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Lafayette.
Communities near Lafayette ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Lafayette.
- New Iberia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Iberia
- New Iberia is located in Iberia Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,032 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Iberia <6>
- Youngsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Youngsville have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngsville
- Youngsville is located in Lafayette Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,262 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Youngsville <6>
- Broussard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broussard
- Broussard is located in Lafayette Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,076 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Broussard <6>
- Abbeville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbeville
- Abbeville is located in Vermilion Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,927 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Abbeville <6>
- Carencro
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carencro
- Carencro is located in Lafayette Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,945 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carencro <6>
- Breaux Bridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breaux Bridge
- Breaux Bridge is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,047 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Breaux Bridge <6>
- Rayne
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayne
- Rayne is located in Acadia Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,983 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rayne <6>
- Saint Martinville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Martinville
- Saint Martinville is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,676 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Martinville <6>
- Church Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Church Point have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Church Point
- Church Point is located in Acadia Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,367 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Church Point <6>
- Sunset
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
- Sunset is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,962 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sunset <6>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Lafayette. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Lafayette.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Lafayette. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lafayette.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Lafayette. See our Newspapers Page for Lafayette.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Lafayette ...
Looking for more information about Lafayette? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Lafayette, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Lafayette.
Adding Lafayette to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Lafayette in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Lafayette was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Lafayette post office opened in 1884.
We also found Lafayette in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Lafayette.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Lafayette: www.lafayettela.gov/
The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Louisiana's parishes, including Lafayette, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Lafayette refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Lafayette may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Lafayette. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Lafayette - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Lafayette). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Lafayette or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Lafayette includes: 70067, 70501, 70502, 70503, 70504, 70505, 70506, 70507, 70508, 70593, 70596 & 70598. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |