Welcome to Opelousas ...
The city of Opelousas is located in Saint Landry Parish<1> and is the Parish Seat for Saint Landry Parish.
Opelousas was established in 1720.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Opelousas has a population of 15,787 people<2> (see below for details).
The community of Opelousas is 70 feet [21 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Opelousas lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Opelousas lies within the (337) area code.
The ZIP codes for Opelousas: 70570-70571<4>
Websites for Opelousas ...
Official Website: www.cityofopelousas.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Opelousas had an population of 15,787 people. This is a decrease of 5.09% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 30.94% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Opelousas had a population of 16,634 people (or 19.95% of the total population of Saint Landry Parish). This makes Opelousas the parish's most populous community.
The population of Opelousas represents 0.37% of the population of Louisiana (which has 4,533,372 people), making it the state's 19th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 16,634 people, the population of Opelousas decreased 27.24% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 22,860 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Opelousas.
Communities near Opelousas ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Opelousas.
- Carencro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- 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 <5>
- Ville Platte
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ville Platte
- Ville Platte is located in Evangeline Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,047 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ville Platte <5>
- Church Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Church Point have been provided by the GNIS.<6> 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 <5>
- Sunset
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- 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 <5>
- Port Barre
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port Barre have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Barre
- Port Barre is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,093 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Port Barre <5>
- Krotz Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Krotz Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krotz Springs
- Krotz Springs is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,157 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Krotz Springs <5>
- Leonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonville
- Leonville is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,093 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leonville <5>
- Arnaudville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnaudville
- Arnaudville is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,041 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnaudville <5>
- Grand Coteau
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Coteau
- Grand Coteau is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Coteau <5>
- Cankton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
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 Opelousas. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Opelousas.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Opelousas. 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 Opelousas.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Opelousas. Our list includes 32 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Opelousas.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Opelousas ...
Looking for more information about Opelousas? 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 Opelousas, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Opelousas.
Adding Opelousas to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Opelousas 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 Opelousas was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Opelousas post office opened in 1807.
We also found Opelousas in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Opelousas.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Opelousas: www.cityofopelousas.com/
The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Louisiana's parishes, including Saint Landry, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Opelousas. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Opelousas - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | 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 Opelousas). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Opelousas or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Opelousas includes: 70570 & 70571. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |