List of Louisiana parishes by French-speaking population

The list of Louisiana parishes by French-speaking population was created from the 2000 United States census.[1] The Census Bureau collects data on languages spoken at home by inhabitants of Louisiana five years of age or more. Responses "French" and "Cajun" are included. In 2010, statewide, out of a population 5 years and older of 4,152,122, some 179,750 people reported French as their home language, while 14,365 reported "Cajun". A further 4,465 who reported French Creole, which includes both Louisiana's Kouri-Vini and Haiti's Kreyòl, are not counted below.

French spread in Louisiana. Parishes marked in yellow are those where 4–10% of the 2015 population speak French or Cajun French at home, orange 10–15%, red 15–20%.

The 2015 update comes from American Community Survey data. In 2005 the U.S. Census Bureau retired its census long form, instead using ACS estimates to track language use. For 2015, a total of 107,616 people in Louisiana (5 years old and older) were estimated to speak French, including Cajun French, Patois, and other varieties of French. An additional 7,209 people were estimated to speak French Creole, but are not included in the table below. The 2017–2021 ACS update estimated 57,640 French speakers and 14,020 speakers of "Cajun French and other French languages." As of July 2025, a parish-by-parish breakdown of French speakers over the age of 5 was not available.[2]

Complete Parish listing

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The 2000 values were derived from the 2000 U.S. Census.[3] The 2015 estimates are from the 2011–2015 American Community Survey.[4]

Name of parish Total population 5 and older 2000 French-speaking population 5 and older 2000 Percentage French-speaking 2000 Total population 5 and older 2015 French-speaking population 5 and older 2015 Percentage French-speaking 2015 Map
Acadia[a] 54,11410,31019.04%57,5996,02210.46%
Allen 23,5711,4686.22%23,9939363.90%
Ascension[b] 70,0931,9442.76%106,2721,2011.13%
Assumption[b] 21,7133,81917.58%21,7802,80312.87%
Avoyelles[b] 38,4686,78917.64%38,5904,02410.43%
Beauregard 30,5595701.86%33,8192020.60%
Bienville 14,699790.53%13,179320.24%
Bossier 90,5874740.51%11,43435150.45%
Caddo 233,8121,9440.82%236,3341,4060.59%
Calcasieu[b] 169,74510,1705.98%182,4765,4112.97%
Caldwell 9,868790.80%9,532160.17%
Cameron[b] 9,2791,07511.57%6,3653906.13%
Catahoula 10,183990.97%9,607140.15%
Claiborne 15,794350.22%15,788960.61%
Concordia 18,6981901.01%19,127670.35%
De Soto 23,6072300.97%25,2551460.58%
East Baton Rouge 382,7417,9252.07%415,6563,7050.89%
East Carroll 8,585550.64%7,17680.11%
East Feliciana 19,8535742.88%18,800890.47%
Evangeline[a] 32,4548,34525.71%31,3874,92515.69%
Franklin 19,649790.40%19,101240.13%
Grant 17,2232301.32%21,0312111.00%
Iberia[a] 67,3748,08911.99%68,5994,9447.21%
Iberville[b] 31,0351,0053.23%31,2957392.36%
Jackson 14,3631481.03%15,157760.50%
Jefferson[b] 424,6007,7631.82%407,5053,4080.84%
Jefferson Davis 28,8444,66016.15%29,2682,1627.39%
Lafayette[a] 176,05125,30014.37%215,67615,0816.99%
Lafourche[b] 83,51815,98419.12%91,1279,31010.22%
La Salle 13,2811671.25%13,976430.31%
Lincoln 39,5735101.28%44,5731260.28%
Livingston 84,6941,3441.58%124,5921,0860.87%
Madison 12,555250.19%10,999180.16%
Morehouse 28,735750.26%25,042410.16%
Natchitoches 36,0823390.93%36,8031470.40%
Orleans 450,8945,8051.28%353,3073,9631.12%
Ouachita 136,2641,0300.75%144,7573020.21%
Plaquemines 24,5818553.47%21,7721830.84%
Pointe Coupée[b] 21,1391,0354.89%21,0753771.79%
Rapides 116,8662,1891.86%123,2031,3911.13%
Red River 8,854200.22%8,211400.49%
Richland 19,3191000.51%19,388350.18%
Sabine 21,8301900.86%22,6471100.49%
St. Bernard 62,8129151.44%39,4681500.38%
St. Charles[b] 44,1521,1892.69%49,3553010.61%
St. Helena 9,690300.30%10,1641321.30%
St. James[b] 19,6849804.97%20,2964562.25%
St. John the Baptist[b] 39,2207351.86%41,1772660.65%
St. Landry[a] 80,66813,47516.70%77,0905,8757.62%
St. Martin[a] 44,77912,29027.44%49,5166,88713.91%
St. Mary[a] 49,3452,6855.43%49,8271,4022.81%
St. Tammany 177,0922,1601.21%228,4691,6960.74%
Tangipahoa 93,0021,0841.16%116,5905540.48%
Tensas 6,144350.56%4,591310.68%
Terrebonne[b] 96,30910,27510.66%104,6104,8454.63%
Union 21,129950.44%21,199700.33%
Vermilion[a] 49,84212,41024.89%54,9318,02614.61%
Vernon 47,0483500.74%47,6612370.50%
Washington 40,7383640.89%43,5963690.85%
Webster 39,1102430.62%38,047950.25%
West Baton Rouge[b] 20,0126753.36%22,9472090.91%
West Carroll 11,507830.72%10,764240.22%
West Feliciana 14,3381591.10%14,7901420.96%
Winn 15,783640.40%14,017240.17%
Louisiana total 4,152,122194,1154.66%3,426,483107,6162.49%

See also

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Notes

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Parishes of Cajun Heartland
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Other parishes of Acadiana

References

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  1. "Language Map Data Center". Archived from the original on 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  2. "Detailed Languages Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over: 2017–2021". US Census Bureau. 2025-06-03. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
  3. "Data Center Results". Archived from the original on 2013-08-15. Retrieved 2013-08-06.
  4. "Table B16001. Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Older". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. 2015.