Vermilion Parish, Louisiana

Vermilion Parish
Parish
Museum at Gueydan, Louisiana
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 29°49′N 92°19′W / 29.81°N 92.31°W / 29.81; -92.31
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Founded	1844
Named for	Vermilion River and Bay
Seat	Abbeville
Largest city	Abbeville
Area
• Total	1,542 sq mi (3,990 km2)
• Land	1,173 sq mi (3,040 km2)
• Water	369 sq mi (960 km2)  24%
Population  (2020)
• Total	57,359
• Density	37/sq mi (14/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Vermilion Parish (French: Paroisse de Vermillion) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, created in 1844.^[1] The parish seat is Abbeville.^[2] Vermilion Parish is part of the Lafayette metropolitan statistical area, and located in southern Acadiana. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 57,359.^[3]

In the past several decades, much of the southern portion of the parish has been swept away by water erosion, especially after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years, from different cultures. By historic times, the Chitimacha and Atakapa inhabited the area and were the American Indians encountered by Spanish and French explorers and settlers. The tribes' numbers were drastically reduced as a result of exposure to European diseases.

French, Spanish, enslaved Africans, and French-Canadians from Acadia expelled after the Seven Years' War won by Great Britain, had all entered the area by the end of the 18th century. As the population became mostly Cajun, the primary language was French for years. In the mid- to late 19th century, they were joined by European Americans; immigrants from Italy, recruited to work on the plantations, as well as Jewish immigrants from Germany and eastern Europe,^[why?] who tended to settle in towns and become merchants.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 1,542 square miles (3,990 km²), of which 1,173 square miles (3,040 km²) is land and 369 square miles (960 km²) (24%) is water.^[4] It is the fifth-largest parish in Louisiana by total area. The Gulf of Mexico is located to the south of the parish.

• U.S. Highway 167
• Louisiana Highway 13
• Louisiana Highway 14
• Louisiana Highway 82
• Louisiana Highway 89
• Louisiana Highway 91
• Louisiana Highway 92
• Louisiana Highway 330
• Louisiana Highway 331
• Louisiana Highway 338
• Louisiana Highway 339
• Louisiana Highway 343

• Acadia Parish (north)
• Lafayette Parish (northeast)
• Iberia Parish (east)
• Cameron Parish (west)
• Jefferson Davis Parish (northwest)

• Abbeville (parish seat and largest municipality)
• Kaplan

• Delcambre (part)
• Erath
• Gueydan
• Maurice^[5]

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	3,409		—
1860	4,324		26.8%
1870	4,528		4.7%
1880	8,728		92.8%
1890	14,234		63.1%
1900	20,705		45.5%
1910	26,390		27.5%
1920	26,482		0.3%
1930	33,684		27.2%
1940	37,750		12.1%
1950	36,929		−2.2%
1960	38,855		5.2%
1970	43,071		10.9%
1980	48,458		12.5%
1990	50,055		3.3%
2000	53,807		7.5%
2010	57,999		7.8%
2020	57,359		−1.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790–1960[7] 1900–1990[8] 1990–2000[9] 2010[10]

Vermilion Parish racial composition as of 2020^[11]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	44,020	76.74%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	7,859	13.7%
Native American	171	0.3%
Asian	1,253	2.18%
Pacific Islander	9	0.02%
Other/Mixed	1,751	3.05%
Hispanic or Latino	2,296	4.0%

Home to a number of Cajun peoples, at the 2000 U.S. census,^[12] there were 53,807 people, 19,832 households, and 14,457 families residing in the parish. The population density was 46 people per square mile (18 people/km²). At the 2019 American Community Survey, there were 59,865 people living in the parish, up from 57,999 at the 2010 U.S. census.^[13] By the 2020 United States census, there were 57,359 people, 22,086 households, and 15,143 families residing in the parish.

In 2000, were 22,461 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile (7.3/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 82.68% White, 14.17% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 1.82% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races; 1.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latin American of any race; 24.89% reported speaking French or Cajun French at home, while 1.64% speak Vietnamese and 1.02% Spanish. In 2019, the racial and ethnic makeup was 81.4% non-Hispanic white, 14.5% Black and African American, 0.5% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.4% some other race, and 1.1% from two or more races. An estimated 3.5% of the population were Hispanic and Latin American of any race.^[13]

At the 2000 U.S. census, there were 19,832 households, out of which 37.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were married couples living together, 13.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.10% were non-families. 23.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.16. The 2019 American Community Survey determined there were 22,086 households and 26,586 housing units; there was a home-ownership rate of 77% and the median housing value was $122,200. The median gross rent from 2015 to 2019 was $685.

In 2019, the median income for a household in the parish was $51,945; males had a median income of $53,658 versus $33,327 for females.^[13] About 21.3% of the children under 18 lived at or below the poverty line, and 17.6% of the total population was below the poverty line. The median income for a household in the parish was $29,500, and the median income for a family was $36,093 in 2000. Males had a median income of $31,044 versus $18,710 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $14,201. About 17.40% of families and 22.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.00% of those under age 18 and 21.40% of those age 65 or over.

Vermilion Parish School Board has an official territory covering the entire parish.^[14] It operates most public schools in the parish. Schools serving Delcambre are located in Vermilion Parish but are operated by the Iberia Parish School System.^[15] The Vermilion Parish district pays money to the Iberia parish district to educate Delcambre students in Vermilion Parish.^[16]

Public Schools that are run by the Vermilion Parish School Board include:

• Cecil Picard Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Maurice)
• Dozier Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Erath)
• Eaton Park Elementary (Grades PK-2) (Abbeville)
• Forked Island - E. Broussard Elementary (Grades PK-8) (Abbeville)
• Indian Bayou Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Rayne)
• James A. Herod Elementary (Grades 3–5) (Abbeville)
• Jesse Owens Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Gueydan)
• Kaplan Elementary (Grades PK-4) (Kaplan)
• Leblanc Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Abbeville)
• Meaux Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Abbeville)
• Seventh Ward Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Abbeville)
• Erath Middle (Grades 6–8) (Erath)
• J. H. Williams Middle (Grades 6–8) (Abbeville)
• North Vermilion Middle (Grades 6–8) (Maurice)
• Rene A. Rost Middle (Grades 5–8) (Kaplan)
• Abbeville High (Grades 9–12) (Abbeville)
• Erath High School (Grades 9–12) (Erath)
• Gueydan High (Grades 6–12) (Gueydan)
• Kaplan High (Grades 9–12) (Kaplan)
• North Vermilion High (Grades 9–12) (Maurice)

Vermilion Parish is also served by the Diocese of Lafayette with three schools:

• Maltrait Memorial School (Grades PK-8) (Kaplan)
• Mt. Carmel Catholic School (Grades PK-8) (Abbeville)
• Vermilion Catholic High School (Grades 9–12) (Abbeville)

Additionally, Vermilion Parish is served by two unaffiliated private schools:

• Harvest Time Christian Academy (Grades PK-12) (Abbeville)
• Lighthouse Christian High School (Grades 9–12) (Abbeville)

Vermilion Parish is served by one institution of higher education:

• South Louisiana Community College service area,^[17] Gulf Area Campus (Abbeville)

United States presidential election results for Vermilion Parish, Louisiana^[18]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	21,510	81.39%	4,637	17.55%	282	1.07%
2020	21,930	80.26%	5,009	18.33%	385	1.41%
2016	20,063	78.27%	4,857	18.95%	712	2.78%
2012	18,910	75.68%	5,720	22.89%	357	1.43%
2008	18,069	72.76%	6,266	25.23%	498	2.01%
2004	15,069	61.38%	9,085	37.00%	398	1.62%
2000	12,495	56.20%	8,704	39.15%	1,036	4.66%
1996	7,653	33.77%	12,609	55.64%	2,399	10.59%
1992	7,062	30.12%	12,324	52.57%	4,058	17.31%
1988	9,224	41.99%	12,180	55.45%	562	2.56%
1984	12,721	56.85%	9,033	40.37%	624	2.79%
1980	10,481	48.96%	9,743	45.51%	1,185	5.54%
1976	6,133	34.36%	11,246	63.00%	471	2.64%
1972	8,909	66.39%	3,876	28.88%	635	4.73%
1968	3,278	21.55%	3,806	25.03%	8,124	53.42%
1964	4,984	35.13%	9,204	64.87%	0	0.00%
1960	2,170	14.87%	11,257	77.13%	1,168	8.00%
1956	3,877	44.59%	4,564	52.49%	254	2.92%
1952	3,868	42.37%	5,261	57.63%	0	0.00%
1948	1,212	19.36%	1,806	28.85%	3,243	51.80%
1944	676	12.61%	4,684	87.39%	0	0.00%
1940	2,621	34.53%	4,969	65.47%	0	0.00%
1936	496	10.66%	4,141	89.02%	15	0.32%
1932	269	8.37%	2,945	91.63%	0	0.00%
1928	451	14.88%	2,580	85.12%	0	0.00%
1924	416	41.03%	598	58.97%	0	0.00%
1920	1,420	72.08%	549	27.87%	1	0.05%
1916	78	3.47%	1,340	59.56%	832	36.98%
1912	124	13.93%	531	59.66%	235	26.40%

For most of the 20th Century, Vermillion was a Democratic-leaning parish, voting Republican only in landslide elections such as 1972, 1980, and 1984. However, like other Acadian parishes with large Cajun populations, the county has turned sharply right in the 21st century based on cultural issues and Democrats' discomfort with the oil and gas industry.^[19]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana

• Heinrich, P. V., 2006, White Lake 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle. Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
• Heinrich, P. V., J. Snead, and R. P. McCulloh, 2003, Crowley 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle. Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
• Official website
• Vermilion Historical Society
• Vermilion Parish Sheriff's Office

29°49′N 92°19′W / 29.81°N 92.31°W / 29.81; -92.31