Coordinates: 29°47′N 91°47′W / 29.79°N 91.78°W / 29.79; -91.78
Country
United States
State
Founded
October 30, 1868
Largest city
New Iberia
• Total
1,031 sq mi (2,670 km2)
• Land
574 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Water
456 sq mi (1,180 km2) 44%
• Total
69,929
• Density
68/sq mi (26/km2)
• Summer (DST)
Congressional district
Website
Iberia Parish (French: Paroisse de l'Ibérie, Spanish: Parroquia de Iberia) is a parish located in the U.S. stateofLouisiana. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 69,929;[1] the parish seatisNew Iberia.[2]
The parish was formed in 1868 during the Reconstruction era and named for the Iberian Peninsula.[3][4] It is part of the 22-parish Acadiana region of the state, with a large Francophone population. Some of its ethnic French residents had ancestors who settled here after being expelled in the 18th century by the British from Acadia in present-day Canada. Historically, it has also been a center for sugar cane cultivation and produces the most sugar of any parish in the state.
Iberia Parish is part of the Lafayette metropolitan area. The Port of Iberia has a waterway with access to the Gulf Coast.
Iberia Parish was created from parts of St. Martin Parish and St. Mary Parish in 1868. It was part of an effort by the Reconstruction-era government to create parishes in which there would be large Republican-majority populations, composed primarily of freedmen in those years.[5]
This territory was part of the sugar parishes, where sugar cane plantations were developed along the waterways before and after the Civil War, dependent on labor of high numbers of enslaved African Americans before the war. Sugar cane was a lucrative commodity crop for planters. Relations between whites and blacks were troubled after the Civil War, as whites sought to dominate freedmen, by violence and intimidation if necessary.
The period after the Reconstruction era was one of increasing violence, especially at the turn of the century and into the early 20th century. In this period, the highly populated Iberia Parish had 26 lynchings of blacks by the KKK, as part of racial terrorism. This was the fifth-highest total of any parish in Louisiana, and tied with the total number of lynchings in Bossier Parish.[6]
There was intense political factionalism in Louisiana. Iberia Parish had factions split among conservatives and those who were more moderate about the status of negroes. Moderates sometimes allied with the republican creoles and whites in the parish. But in 1884 white Democrats murdered more than 20 African Americans (most of the total noted above), in a kind of political lynching, and arrested white Republicans to regain power in Iberia Parish. In contrast to northern Louisiana, residents otherwise seemed to rely more on the formal legal system, with fewer mob lynchings. But negroes suffered here, making up 88 percent of the persons legally executed for violent crimes in the late 19th century.[7]
In the late 19th century, there was often a labor shortage on the sugar plantations. Planters recruited thousands of Italian immigrants as temporary laborers, many Sicilians who had first settled in New Orleans. They were needed during the fall harvest and processing season, which extended from October to January. The Italians became part of the volatility of social relations, struggling to make their way between planters and negro workers, and competing with other workers for jobs.[8]
The parish economy changed markedly in the 20th century after the discovery of oil. The Port of Iberia was developed into an industrial center. New types of jobs became available for African Americans. Iberia produces the most sugar of any parish in the state.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 1,031 square miles (2,670 km2), of which 574 square miles (1,490 km2) is land and 456 square miles (1,180 km2) (44%) is water.[9] This includes Marsh Island.
The parish has both national and state protected areas within its borders.
Part of the Attakapas Wildlife Management Area is located within Iberia Parish, as well as in St. Mary and St. Martin parishes.[10]
Historical population
Census
Pop.
Note
%±
9,042
—
16,676
84.4%
20,997
25.9%
29,015
38.2%
31,262
7.7%
26,855
−14.1%
28,192
5.0%
37,183
31.9%
40,059
7.7%
51,657
29.0%
57,397
11.1%
63,752
11.1%
68,297
7.1%
73,266
7.3%
73,240
0.0%
69,929
−4.5%
Iberia Parish racial composition as of 2020[16]
Race
Number
Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)
38,572
55.16%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
22,984
32.87%
247
0.35%
1,933
2.76%
3
0.0%
2,293
3.28%
3,897
5.57%
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 69,929 people, 26,185 households, and 20,409 families residing in the parish. The 2019 American Community Survey estimated 69,830 people lived in Iberia Parish. Approximately 25.6% of the population were under 18 years of age and 51.1% of the population was female.[17] At the census[18] of 2000, there were 73,266 people, 25,381 households, and 19,162 families residing in the parish. The population density was 127 people per square mile (49 people/km2). There were 27,844 housing units at an average density of 48 per square mile (19/km2).
In 2000, there were 25,381 households, out of which 39.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.20% were married couples living together, 17.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.50% were non-families. 21.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.28.
In the parish the population was spread out, with 30.00% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 92.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.80 males in 2000.
In 2019, the parish had a median income $48,861 and mean income of $23,290. An estimated 21.9% of the parish population lived at or below the poverty line. The median income for a household in the parish was $31,204, and the median income for a family was $36,017 in 2000. Males had a median income of $32,399 versus $18,174 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $14,145. About 20.20% of families and 23.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.50% of those under age 18 and 20.20% of those age 65 or over.
At the 2000 census, the racial makeup of the parish was 65.08% White, 30.81% BlackorAfrican American, 0.31% Native American, 1.93% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. About 1.50% of the population were HispanicorLatino of any race. Of the population, 11.99% reported speaking FrenchorCajun French at home, while 1.48% speak Lao and 1.29% Spanish.[19] The 2019 census estimated determined 58.6% of the population was non-Hispanic white, 32.8% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian or Alaska Native, 2.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.9% multiracial, and 4.3% Hispanic or Latin American of any race.[17]
Iberia Parish School System serves the parish.[20]
Iberia parish also has several private schools. These include Catholic High New Iberia (of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana), Acadiana Christian School and Highland Baptist School.
Iberia Parish is in the service area of Fletcher Technical Community College and of South Louisiana Community College.[21]
E Company 199th Forward Support Battalion is stationed in Jeanerette, Louisiana, and B Company 2-156th is stationed in New Iberia, Louisiana. Both units have deployed twice to Iraq, 2004-5 and 2010, as part of the 256TH IBCT.
United States presidential election results for Iberia Parish, Louisiana[22]
Year
No.
%
No.
%
No.
%
21,251
64.96%
11,027
33.71%
435
1.33%
20,903
64.41%
10,698
32.96%
853
2.63%
20,892
62.56%
12,132
36.33%
373
1.12%
20,127
60.68%
12,492
37.66%
549
1.66%
19,420
60.17%
12,426
38.50%
427
1.32%
17,236
57.42%
11,762
39.18%
1,022
3.40%
12,014
40.09%
15,087
50.35%
2,864
9.56%
11,905
38.99%
13,040
42.71%
5,585
18.29%
15,438
54.49%
12,166
42.94%
727
2.57%
17,727
62.14%
10,170
35.65%
629
2.21%
14,273
57.03%
9,681
38.68%
1,074
4.29%
10,392
50.07%
9,984
48.11%
377
1.82%
11,812
65.84%
5,143
28.67%
985
5.49%
5,448
28.63%
5,510
28.96%
8,071
42.41%
8,196
50.17%
8,141
49.83%
0
0.00%
3,551
22.95%
9,235
59.70%
2,684
17.35%
6,733
63.43%
3,544
33.39%
338
3.18%
5,669
58.39%
4,040
41.61%
0
0.00%
2,910
47.26%
1,015
16.49%
2,232
36.25%
1,141
23.76%
3,661
76.24%
0
0.00%
1,706
29.43%
4,091
70.57%
0
0.00%
1,234
32.23%
2,595
67.77%
0
0.00%
798
24.86%
2,412
75.14%
0
0.00%
413
13.89%
2,561
86.11%
0
0.00%
679
47.85%
740
52.15%
0
0.00%
1,275
74.43%
438
25.57%
0
0.00%
134
7.50%
802
44.90%
850
47.59%
222
17.13%
666
51.39%
408
31.48%
Geology
Iberia Parish, Louisiana
St. Martin Parish and Gulf of Mexico
Footnotes
‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent parish or parishes
Current
Former
Split
International
National
Geographic
Other
29°47′N 91°47′W / 29.79°N 91.78°W / 29.79; -91.78