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List of Cities and Counties in Louisiana
Discover Louisiana population facts easily with our list of counties and cities. Find out how many people live in each area, from big cities to small towns, and see how Louisiana’s population is spread out across the state.
Louisiana Parish by Population
A parish is an administrative subdivision of the US state of Louisiana. As of 2022, the state of Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes, which are analogous to counties in other states.
The most populous Parish in Louisiana is East Baton Rouge Parish (1.26 million), and Tensas Parish is the least populated Parish. The Largest Parish by Land Area in Louisiana is Plaquemines Parish and the smallest in the area is West Baton Rouge Parish.
read about the Population of Louisiana
# | Parish | Population 2021 | Area (sq. miles) |
1 | East Baton Rouge Parish | 453,301 | 471 |
2 | Jefferson Parish | 433,688 | 642 |
3 | Orleans Parish | 376,971 | 350 |
4 | St. Tammany Parish | 269,388 | 1,124 |
5 | Lafayette Parish | 244,205 | 270 |
6 | Caddo Parish | 233,092 | 937 |
7 | Calcasieu Parish | 205,282 | 1,094 |
8 | Ouachita Parish | 158,768 | 633 |
9 | Livingston Parish | 145,830 | 703 |
10 | Tangipahoa Parish | 135,217 | 823 |
11 | Bossier Parish | 129,144 | 867 |
12 | Rapides Parish | 128,654 | 1,362 |
13 | Ascension Parish | 128,369 | 303 |
14 | Terrebonne Parish | 108,708 | 2,080 |
15 | Lafourche Parish | 97,504 | 1,472 |
16 | St. Landry Parish | 82,071 | 939 |
17 | Iberia Parish | 68,975 | 1,031 |
18 | Acadia Parish | 57,288 | 658 |
19 | Vermilion Parish | 57,204 | 1,538 |
20 | St. Charles Parish | 52,282 | 410 |
21 | St. Martin Parish | 51,540 | 817 |
22 | St. Mary Parish | 48,232 | 612 |
23 | Lincoln Parish | 48,152 | 472 |
24 | Vernon Parish | 48,027 | 1,341 |
25 | Washington Parish | 45,133 | 676 |
26 | St. Bernard Parish | 44,258 | 1,794 |
27 | St. John the Baptist Parish | 42,094 | 348 |
28 | Avoyelles Parish | 39,236 | 866 |
29 | Natchitoches Parish | 37,026 | 1,299 |
30 | Beauregard Parish | 36,584 | 1,166 |
31 | Webster Parish | 36,184 | 615 |
32 | Jefferson Davis Parish | 32,345 | 659 |
33 | Evangeline Parish | 32,215 | 680 |
34 | Iberville Parish | 29,824 | 653 |
35 | West Baton Rouge Parish | 27,792 | 203 |
36 | DeSoto Parish | 26,919 | 895 |
37 | Morehouse Parish | 25,025 | 805 |
38 | Plaquemines Parish | 23,303 | 2,429 |
39 | Allen Parish | 22,687 | 766 |
40 | Grant Parish | 22,236 | 664 |
41 | Sabine Parish | 22,135 | 1,012 |
42 | Union Parish | 21,091 | 905 |
43 | Assumption Parish | 20,689 | 364 |
44 | Pointe Coupee Parish | 20,356 | 591 |
45 | Richland Parish | 19,805 | 564 |
46 | St. James Parish | 19,742 | 258 |
47 | Franklin Parish | 19,668 | 636 |
48 | East Feliciana Parish | 19,338 | 456 |
49 | Concordia Parish | 18,376 | 749 |
50 | West Feliciana Parish | 15,494 | 426 |
51 | Jackson Parish | 14,876 | 580 |
52 | LaSalle Parish | 14,834 | 663 |
53 | Claiborne Parish | 14,038 | 768 |
54 | Winn Parish | 13,488 | 957 |
55 | Bienville Parish | 12,776 | 822 |
56 | St. Helena Parish | 10,912 | 409 |
57 | Madison Parish | 9,799 | 651 |
58 | West Carroll Parish | 9,594 | 360 |
59 | Caldwell Parish | 9,571 | 541 |
60 | Catahoula Parish | 8,805 | 739 |
61 | Red River Parish | 7,564 | 402 |
62 | East Carroll Parish | 7,220 | 442 |
63 | Cameron Parish | 5,080 | 1,932 |
64 | Tensas Parish | 4,043 | 641 |
read about the race and ethnicity in Louisiana
Top Cities in Louisiana by population
Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes, which are equivalent to counties, and contains 304 municipalities consisting of four consolidated city parishes, and 304 cities, towns, and villages. New Orleans is the largest city in the state followed by Baton Rouge and Shreveport.
Let’s have a look at the top cities in Louisiana by population
# | City | Counties | Population 2020 | Area (sq. mi.) |
1 | New Orleans | Orleans | 383,997 | 169.42 |
2 | Baton Rouge | East Baton Rouge | 227,470 | 76.95 |
3 | Shreveport | Bossier, Caddo | 187,593 | 105.38 |
4 | Lafayette | Lafayette | 121,374 | 49.23 |
5 | Lake Charles | Calcasieu | 84,872 | 42.06 |
6 | Kenner | Jefferson | 66,448 | 14.87 |
7 | Bossier City | Bossier | 62,701 | 42.34 |
8 | Monroe | Ouachita | 47,702 | 29.21 |
9 | Alexandria | Rapides | 46,180 | 28.41 |
10 | Houma[b] | Terrebonne | 33,406 | 14.42 |
11 | Central | East Baton Rouge | 29,565 | 62.24 |
12 | Slidell | St. Tammany | 28,781 | 14.84 |
13 | New Iberia | Iberia | 28,555 | 11.14 |
14 | Ruston | Lincoln | 22,166 | 20.85 |
15 | Sulphur | Calcasieu | 21,809 | 9.99 |
16 | Hammond | Tangipahoa | 19,584 | 14.01 |
17 | Zachary | East Baton Rouge | 19,316 | 23.93 |
18 | Natchitoches | Natchitoches | 18,039 | 22.63 |
19 | Gretna | Jefferson | 17,814 | 4.04 |
20 | Thibodaux | Lafourche | 15,948 | 6.03 |
Source: US Census 2020
Most Populous Counties/Parish in Louisiana
The most populous Parish in Louisiana is East Baton Rouge Parish with 0.45 million residents. It was followed by Jefferson Parish (0.43 million) and Orleans Parish(0.37 million)
Let’s have a look at the Top 10 most populous Parish
# | Parish | Population 2021 |
1 | East Baton Rouge Parish | 453,301 |
2 | Jefferson Parish | 433,688 |
3 | Orleans Parish | 376,971 |
4 | St. Tammany Parish | 269,388 |
5 | Lafayette Parish | 244,205 |
6 | Caddo Parish | 233,092 |
7 | Calcasieu Parish | 205,282 |
8 | Ouachita Parish | 158,768 |
9 | Livingston Parish | 145,830 |
10 | Tangipahoa Parish | 135,217 |
Least Populated Louisiana Parish
The least populous Parish is Tensas County with 4,043 residents, it’s followed by Cameron Parish and East Carroll Parish.
Let’s have a look at 5 least populated counties in Louisiana
# | Parish | Population 2021 |
1 | Tensas Parish | 4,043 |
2 | Cameron Parish | 5,080 |
3 | East Carroll Parish | 7,220 |
4 | Red River Parish | 7,564 |
5 | Catahoula Parish | 8,805 |
read about religion in Louisiana
Largest Parish in Louisiana by area
The Largest Parish by Land Area in Louisiana is Plaquemines Parish with an area of 2429 sq. miles. Terrebonne with an area of 2080 sq. mi. comes next followed by Cameron Parish (1932 sq. mi.)
Let’s have a look at the Top 10 counties by Area
# | Parish | Area (sq. miles) |
1 | Plaquemines Parish | 2,429 |
2 | Terrebonne Parish | 2,080 |
3 | Cameron Parish | 1,932 |
4 | St. Bernard Parish | 1,794 |
5 | Vermilion Parish | 1,538 |
6 | Lafourche Parish | 1,472 |
7 | Rapides Parish | 1,362 |
8 | Vernon Parish | 1,341 |
9 | Natchitoches Parish | 1,299 |
10 | Beauregard Parish | 1,166 |
Smallest Parish in Louisiana by area
The smallest Parish by area in Louisiana is West Baton Rouge with an area of 203 square miles.
# | Parish | Area (sq. miles) |
1 | West Baton Rouge Parish | 203 |
2 | St. James Parish | 258 |
3 | Lafayette Parish | 270 |
4 | Ascension Parish | 303 |
5 | St. John the Baptist Parish | 348 |
source: US Census report 2021
Most Densely populated Parish in Louisiana
The most densely populated Parish in Louisiana is Orleans Parish, with 1,077 people per sq. mi. Next comes East Baton Rouge Parish with 962 people per sq. mi followed by Lafayette Parish (904/ sq.mi).
Let’s have a look at the Top 10 densely populated Parish
# | Parish | Density ( people/sq. mi.) |
1 | Orleans Parish | 1,077.06 |
2 | East Baton Rouge Parish | 962.42 |
3 | Lafayette Parish | 904.46 |
4 | Jefferson Parish | 675.53 |
5 | Ascension Parish | 423.66 |
6 | Ouachita Parish | 250.82 |
7 | Caddo Parish | 248.76 |
8 | St. Tammany Parish | 239.67 |
9 | Livingston Parish | 207.44 |
10 | Calcasieu Parish | 187.64 |
Least Densely Populated Parish in Louisiana
Cameron Parish with a population density of just 2.63 people per sq. miles is the least densely populated Parish in Louisiana.
# | Parish | Density ( people/sq. mi.) |
1 | Cameron Parish | 2.63 |
2 | Tensas Parish | 6.31 |
3 | Plaquemines Parish | 9.59 |
4 | Catahoula Parish | 11.91 |
5 | Winn Parish | 14.09 |