Iberville Parish, Louisiana


Iberville Parish is a parish located south of Baton Rouge in the U.S. state of Louisiana, formed in 1807. The parish seat is Plaquemine. The population was 30,241 at the 2020 census.
WWW ibervilleparish.com

History

The parish is named for Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, who founded the French colony of Louisiana.
A few archaeological efforts have been made in the parish, mainly to excavate the Native American burial mounds that have been identified there. The first expedition, led by Clarence B. Moore, was an attempt at collecting data from a couple of the sites, and it set the groundwork for later projects. Moore was mainly interested in the skeletal remains of the previous inhabitants, rather than excavating for archaeological items. Archaeologists are especially interested in these sites because of their uniformity and size. Some of the mounds are seven hundred feet long, a hundred feet wide and six feet tall. Most of them contain human remains.
There were at least 2 wooden forts in the area by 1779, also represent St. Gabriel Parish.
Iberville Parish is represented in the Louisiana State Senate by a Republican, Marine Corps veteran Caleb Kleinpeter, who has served in the Senate since 2022. The parish is currently represented in the state House by Republican Jeremy LaCombe.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Iberville Parish is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.

Major highways

Adjacent parishes

National protected area

Communities

Cities

Towns

Villages

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the parish had a population of 30,241 people, 11,208 households, and 7,372 families residing there. The median age was 41.7 years. 20.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 105.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 107.0 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the parish was 49.0% White, 44.2% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.5% from some other race, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.7% of the population.
41.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 58.5% lived in rural areas.
There were 13,198 housing units, of which 15.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 74.6% were owner-occupied and 25.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.0%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, its racial and ethnic makeup was 49.3% Black and African American, 48.8% non-Hispanic white, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% some other race, and 0.8% two or more races; 2.0% were Hispanic and Latin American of any race.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, 49.26% were non-Hispanic white, 49.7% African American, 0.18% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.26% Asian, 0.01% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races; 1.03% were Hispanic and Latin American of any race.

2019 estimates

As of 2019 estimates, there were 2,697 businesses operating in the parish, of which 1,339 were minority-owned. The parish had an employment rate of 47.9%, a home-ownership rate of 73.4%, and a median housing value of $143,700; the median gross rent was $755. The median income for a household was $50,161; males had a median income of $54,655 versus $30,773 for females; 27.6% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.

Religion

Among its religious population in 2020, the Association of Religion Data Archives determined there were 1,700 non-denominational Protestants, and 7,901 Roman Catholics. Non-denominational Christianity was the largest non-Catholic demographic, reflecting the rise of non/inter-denominationalism.

Government and infrastructure

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections operates two prisons, Elayn Hunt Correctional Center and Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women, in St. Gabriel in Iberville Parish. LCIW houses the female death row.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Iberville Parish School Board operates the public schools within all of Iberville Parish.

Public libraries

Iberville Parish Library operates libraries in the parish. The Parish Headquarters Library is located in Plaquemine. Branches include Bayou Pigeon, Bayou Sorrel, East Iberville, Grosse Tete, Maringouin, Rosedale, White Castle.

Colleges and universities

It is in the service area of South Louisiana Community College.

National Guard

The Gillis W. Long Center, located on the outskirts of Carville, LA, is operated by the Louisiana Army National Guard. This post is home to the 415TH MI Battalion, the 241ST MPAD, and the 61st Troop Command. The 415TH MI is a subunit of the 139TH RSG.