Lafayette

Population & Demographics

Lafayette, LA

Lafayette is home to 121,715 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 50,068 resident workers commute each day.

LouisianaCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
121,715
people
Population

121,715 residents

Median age 36.9 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Lafayette population & demographics

Who lives in Lafayette — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
121,715
Median age
36.9yrs
Median household income
$61,915
Median home value
$257,000
Median gross rent
$1,100/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
41.1%
Poverty rate
18.3%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in Lafayette

How Lafayette breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

White56.1%
Black29.0%
Hispanic or Latino8.1%
Two or more races4.0%
Asian2.2%
Some other race0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander0.1%

Race across Lafayette

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across Lafayette.

Lafayette at a glance
Employed Residents
50,068
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
13.3mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
53.2%
Share working within the area
Work from home
9.9%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Baton Rouge
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Lafayette proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How Lafayette commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

74
Commute Score

74 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

Lafayette

50,068 commutes, one dot at a time

Lafayette

Where 50,068 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in Lafayette, by worker count.

1Lafayette0.0 mi26,642
2Baton Rouge56.1 mi2,252
3Broussard6.3 mi2,158
4Scott4.3 mi835
5Youngsville7.8 mi776
6New Orleans119.4 mi699
7Carencro7.4 mi632
8Breaux Bridge9.1 mi552

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Lafayette.

1Lafayette0.0 mi26,642
2Youngsville7.8 mi3,109
3Broussard6.3 mi2,483
4Carencro7.4 mi1,758
5New Iberia18.9 mi1,702
6Scott4.3 mi1,559
7Baton Rouge56.1 mi1,410
8New Orleans119.4 mi992

Top industries

The sectors that employ Lafayette’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance22.0%
RTRetail Trade13.2%
AFAccommodation and Food Services11.6%
PTProfessional, Scientific, and Technical Services7.9%
EDEducational Services7.5%
ADAdministrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services4.9%
MFManufacturing4.6%
COConstruction4.0%
FIFinance and Insurance3.4%
Connectivity

Internet options for Lafayette

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

8 providers · 3 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps100%
5 Gbps100%
8 Gbps100%
See all internet providers in Lafayette

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).