Jefferson Parish (French: Paroisse de Jefferson) is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 440,781. Its parish seat is Gretna, its largest community is Metairie, and its largest incorporated city is Kenner. Jefferson Parish is included in the Greater New Orleans area.
Contents
History
1825 to 1940
Jefferson Parish was named in honor of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson of Virginia when the parish was established by the Louisiana Legislature on February 11, 1825, a year before Jefferson died. A bronze statue of Jefferson stands at the entrance of the General Government Complex on Derbigny Street in Gretna. The parish seat was in the city of Lafayette, until that area was annexed by New Orleans in 1852. In that year the parish government moved to Carrollton, where it remained for twenty-two years.
In 1863 Abraham Lincoln mentioned Jefferson Parish in the Emancipation Proclamation as a confederate parish.
Originally, this parish was larger than it is today, running from Felicity Street in New Orleans to the St. Charles Parish line. However, as New Orleans grew, it absorbed the cities of Lafayette, Jefferson City, Carrollton, and several unincorporated areas (faubourgs). These became part of Orleans Parish. The present borders between Jefferson Parish and Orleans Parish were set in 1874. The Jefferson Parish seat was moved to Gretna at the same time. (The historic city of Lafayette in Jefferson Parish, as it was recorded in U.S. census records until 1870, should not be confused with Lafayette, Louisiana, in Lafayette Parish.)
1940 to 2000
From the 1940s to the 1970s, Jefferson's population swelled with an influx of middle-class white families from Orleans Parish. The parish's population doubled in size from 1940 to 1950 and again from 1950 to 1960 as the parents behind the post–World War II baby boom, profiting from rising living standards and dissatisfied with their old neighborhoods, chose relocation to new neighborhoods of detached single-family housing. By the 1960s, rising racial tensions in New Orleans complicated the impetus behind the migration, as many new arrivals sought not only more living space but also residence in a political jurisdiction independent from New Orleans proper.
The earliest postwar subdivisions were developed on the Eastbank of Jefferson Parish ("East Jefferson") along the pre-existing Jefferson Highway and Airline Highway routes, often relatively far-removed from the New Orleans city line, as land prices were lower further away from New Orleans and land assembly was easier. The completion of Veterans Highway in the late 1950s, following a route parallel to Airline but further north, stimulated more development. The arrival of I-10 in the early 1960s resulted in the demolition of some homes in the Old Metairie neighborhood, where development began in the 1920s, but resulted in even easier access to suburban East Jefferson.
In the portion of Jefferson Parish on the Westbank of the Mississippi River ("West Jefferson"), large-scale suburban development commenced with the completion, in 1958, of the Greater New Orleans Bridge crossing the Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans. Terrytown, within the city limits of Gretna, was the first large subdivision to be developed. Subsequent development has been extensive, taking place within Harvey, Marrero, Westwego and Avondale.
Similar to the development trajectory observed by other U.S. suburban areas, Jefferson began to enjoy a significant employment base by the 1970s and 1980s, shedding its earlier role as a simple bedroom community. In East Jefferson, the Causeway Boulevard corridor grew into a commercial office node, while the Elmwood neighborhood developed as a center for light manufacturing and distribution. By the mid-1990s, Jefferson Parish was exhibiting some of the symptoms presented by inner-ring suburbs throughout the United States. Median household income growth slowed, even trailing income growth rates in New Orleans proper, such that the inner city began to narrow the gap in median household income, a gap at its widest at the time of the 1980 census. St. Tammany Parish and, to a lesser extent, St. Charles Parish began to attract migrants from New Orleans, and increasingly even from Jefferson Parish itself. These trends were catalyzed by Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed much of New Orleans' low-income housing and propelled further numbers of lower-income individuals into Jefferson Parish.
Hurricane Katrina (2005)
Even though Jefferson Parish was affected by Hurricane Katrina, it has rebounded more quickly than Orleans Parish, since the devastation was not as severe. The parish has a current population of 432,000, which is 15,000 fewer people than was recorded by the 2000 U.S. census. New Orleans' Katrina-provoked population loss has resulted in Jefferson Parish becoming the second most populous parish behind East Baton Rouge Parish, center of the Baton Rouge metropolitan area.
With the landfall of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, Jefferson Parish took a hard hit. On the East Bank, widespread flooding occurred, especially in the eastern part of the parish, as well as much wind damage. Schools also were reported to have been severely damaged. On the West Bank, there was little to no flooding, though there was still much wind damage. As a result, the Jefferson Parish Council temporarily moved the parish government to Baton Rouge. Evacuees of Jefferson Parish were told that they could expect to be able to go back to their homes starting Monday, September 5, 2005, between the hours of 6 a.m. CDT and 6 p.m. CDT, but would have to return to their places of evacuation because life in the area was not sustainable. There were no open grocery stores or gas stations, and almost the entire parish had no electric, water, or sewerage services. Moreover, evacuations out of New Orleans were continuing to be staged from the heart of Metairie at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Causeway Boulevard, and traffic throughout the area was primarily restricted to emergency and utility vehicles.
On September 4, Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard broke down on Meet the Press
RUSSERT: You just heard the director of Homeland Security's explanation of what has happened this last week. What is your reaction?
BROUSSARD: We have been abandoned by our own country. Hurricane Katrina will go down in history as one of the worst storms ever to hit an American coast. But the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will go down as one of the worst abandonments of Americans on American soil ever in U.S. history. … Whoever is at the top of this totem pole, that totem pole needs to be chainsawed off and we've got to start with some new leadership. It's not just Katrina that caused all these deaths in New Orleans here. Bureaucracy has committed murder here in the greater New Orleans area and bureaucracy has to stand trial before Congress now....
Post–Katrina
A business report released in April 2007 found Jefferson Parish led the nation in job growth, for the quarter ending September 30, 2006,
as rebuilding continued after Hurricane Katrina. Jefferson Parish president Aaron Broussard believed that Jefferson Parish would reach pre-Katrina numbers or even exceed those numbers, as residents who were still evacuated from New Orleans returned to Jefferson Parish to be closer to New Orleans as they await federal recovery money to repair their homes.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 665 square miles (1,720 km2), of which 296 square miles (770 km2) is land and 370 square miles (960 km2) (56%) is water.
Lake Pontchartrain is situated in the northern part of Jefferson Parish with the parish line several miles north of the southern shore, with St. Tammany Parish at its northern shore. The Mississippi River is located around the midpoint of Jefferson Parish flowing generally in a north-west to south-east direction.
Surrounding parishes include St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana at the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, St. Charles Parish upriver to the west, Orleans Parish downriver to the east, and Plaquemines Parish downriver to the south-east. The majority of the southern half of Jefferson Parish is uninhabited marshland with one of the exceptions being the town of Grand Isle; the only roads connecting Grand Isle to the rest of Jefferson Parish run through Lafourche Parish and St. Charles Parish.
National protected area
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (part, in Marrero)
State parks
Bayou Segnette State Park
Grand Isle State Park
Communities
Cities
Gretna (parish seat)
Harahan
Kenner (largest municipality)
Westwego
Towns
Grand Isle
Jean Lafitte
Unincorporated communities
Crown Point
Ghost town
Cheniere Caminada
Demographics
In 1830, the U.S. Census Bureau reported a population of 6,846; since the 2020 U.S. census, its population has grown to 440,781 people, 171,991 households, and 108,177 families residing in the parish. In 2010, the population density was 1,410 inhabitants per square mile (540/km2) and there were 187,907 housing units at an average density of 613 per square mile (237/km2).
In 2019, the racial and ethnic makeup of the parish was an estimated 52.6% non-Hispanic white, 26.4% Black and African American, 0.3% American Indian or Alaska Native, 4.2% Asian, <0.0% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 0.3% some other race, 1.7% two or more races, and 14.5% Hispanic or Latino American of any race. At the 2020 U.S. census, the racial and ethnic makeup was a tabulated 47.28% non-Hispanic white, 26.29% black or African American, 0.3% American Indian or Alaska Native, 4.43% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.74% multiracial, and 17.94% Hispanic or Latino American of any race, representing a nationwide demographic shift of diversification from the predominant non-Hispanic white population.
Between the 2000 U.S. census and the 2010 U.S. census, the overall population of Jefferson Parish decreased while its population of Hispanic and Latino Americans increased. One theory is this was due to Hispanic and Latino Americans arriving after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to assist the already existing Hispanic and Latin community in Jefferson Parish. As of 2011, more than 15% of the parish population was Hispanic.
At the 2019 American Community Survey, there were 169,452 households and 188,511 housing units with an owner-occupied rate of 61.2%. The median value of an owner-occupied housing unit was $188,200 and median gross rent for the parish was $972. The median household income for Jefferson Parish was $54,032 and males had a median annual income of $48,933 versus $38,442 for females. Jefferson's overall poverty rate was 15.5%, and 25.3% of children under age 18 lived at or below the poverty line.
Among the religious community in Jefferson Parish, most have identified as Christian. The predominant religious institution of Christendom in the parish is the Catholic Church, primarily served by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans. There is also a prominent Baptist population identifying with the Southern Baptist Convention. In Gretna, there were at least two Assemblies of God USA congregations reflecting the area's Pentecostal population as of 2022. Of note among Baptists and Pentecostals, there have also been several historically black or African American Baptist and Pentecostal churches in the parish.
Economy
The economy of Jefferson Parish has often been tied to that of New Orleans, being a part of its metropolitan area.
According to the parish's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the parish were:
Other notable employers in the parish have been Friedrich Custom Manufacturing, a leading maker of police barricades, including the ones used by the New York City Police Department; and Starr Textiles, which relocated to the parish from New Orleans.
Since the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the parish has been laboring on a plan for redeveloping and diversifying its economy to attract more businesses. A five-year economic development plan was issued by the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission.
Education
The parish's public schools are operated by Jefferson Parish Public Schools, which has boundaries paralleling those of the parish. The Jefferson Parish Library operates the public libraries.
Historically a significant number of the parish's students were in private schools, and as of 2015 Catholic schools (of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans) had the majority of private school students. In 2000 the parish was the American county equivalent with the second highest per capita enrollment in private school. As of October 1, 2014 there were fewer than 18,000 students in Jefferson Parish, or over 25% of the children of the ages for K-12 education, who attended private schools approved by the State of Louisiana. There were also 1,246 children in the parish who were homeschooling or who were in private schools not approved by the state.
From 2013–2014 to 2014–2015 the percentage of students in the parish's private schools declined by 4%; the Catholic schools specifically had the same percentage of enrollment decline. The non-Catholic private schools together had a 3% decline. Jessica Williams of The Times Picayune stated that the establishment of charter schools and improved options in Jefferson Parish district schools, along with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Great Recession, caused decreases in private school enrollment.
Government and infrastructure
Cynthia Lee-Sheng, daughter of former Sheriff Harry Lee, is the current President of Jefferson Parish, elected in 2019. Legislative authority in the parish is delegated to the Jefferson Parish Council, which consists of five district council members and two at-large members.
The Bridge City Center for Youth, a juvenile correctional facility for boys operated by the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice, is in Bridge City, an unincorporated area in the parish.
Politics
Jefferson Parish was one of the first areas of Louisiana to turn Republican. It has not voted for a Democrat for president since John F. Kennedy in 1960. In the 2008 Presidential election, Jefferson Parish cast a majority of votes for Republican John McCain, who won 63% of the vote and 113,191 votes. Democrat Barack Obama won 36% of the votes and 65,096 votes. Although John McCain easily won Jefferson Parish, in the U.S Senate race that same year between Democrat Mary Landrieu and Republican John Neely Kennedy, Landrieu won Jefferson Parish. She won 52% of the vote and 91,966 votes. John Kennedy won 46% of the vote and 79,965 votes. Other candidates won 2% of the vote. In 2004, Republican George W. Bush won 62% of the vote and 117,882 votes. Democrat John F. Kerry won 38% of the votes and 72,136 votes.
Since 2008, in contrast to much of the rest of Louisiana shifting somewhat towards the Republicans, Jefferson Parish appears to be trending slightly Democratic at the presidential level. In 2012, Mitt Romney won it with only 58.2% of the vote, and in 2016, despite still losing the parish to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton became the second Democrat since her husband in 1996, and only the third since Jimmy Carter in 1976, to crack 40% of the vote there. In 2020, Joe Biden cut the Republican margin to just 11 points, the lowest Republican margin since it voted for Bob Dole by just 6.7 points in 1996.
Transportation
Roads
Jefferson Parish is served by one interstate highway and multiple U.S. and state highways.
I-10
US 61
US 90
US 90 Bus.
I-49 (future) / I-910 (unsigned)
LA 1
LA 18
LA 23
LA 45
LA 48
LA 49
LA 301
LA 302
LA 303
LA 428
LA 466
LA 541
LA 560 (branches 2 and 4)
LA 564
LA 574 (branches 1 and 3 to 9)
LA 611 (branches 1, 3 and 9)
LA 3017
LA 3018
LA 3046
LA 3134
LA 3139
LA 3150
LA 3151
LA 3152
LA 3154
Public Transportation
Jefferson Parish Transit (formerly known as JeT) serves the parish with 11 bus routes, an on-demand zone, and paratransit services. It also operates a special "Hurricane Evacuation System" when the parish is under evacuation orders due to an impending severe hurricane.