List of parishes in Louisiana

Parishes of Louisiana
CategorySecond-level administrative division
LocationState of Louisiana
Number64 Parishes
PopulationsGreatest: 448,467 (East Baton Rouge Parish)
Least: 3,764 (Tensas Parish)
Average: 71,465
AreasLargest: 2,429 square miles (6,290 km2) (Plaquemines Parish)
Smallest: 203 square miles (530 km2) (West Baton Rouge Parish)
Average: 781 square miles (2,020 km2)
Government
Subdivisions

The U.S. state of Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes (French: paroisses, Spanish: parroquias), making it the only state besides Alaska to call its subdivisions something other than "counties."[a] Louisiana's usage of the term "parish" for a geographic region or local government dates back to the French colonial and Spanish colonial periods and is connected to ecclesiastical parishes.

Thirty-eight parishes are governed by a council called a police jury. The remaining 26 have various other forms of government, including: council-president, council-manager, parish commission, and consolidated parish/city.[1]


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  1. ^ "Parish Government Structure - Police Jury Association of Louisiana". Police Jury Association of LA. Retrieved February 23, 2019.