LA · 2026 Census Gazetteer

Louisiana counties by area

Official, comparable measurements for 64 counties and county equivalents.

Source fields preservedGEOID · ALAND · AWATER

County equivalents64

Combined land43,221.5 mi²

Combined water9,153.9 mi²

Largest by landVernon Parish

Understanding Louisiana’s county areas

The land-area range runs from Orleans Parish at 169.6 mi² to Vernon Parish at 1,326.7 mi². The largest has 7.8 times the land area of the smallest and accounts for 3.1% of the combined county land in Louisiana.

The median county-equivalent land area is 645.9 mi², above the national median of 604.5 mi². The median describes the middle of the county size distribution; it does not describe how people or development are distributed. A state with a few very large counties can have a much smaller median than its largest entry suggests.

Where water changes the picture

Plaquemines Parish has the most assigned water area, at 1,786.6 mi². St. Bernard Parish has the highest water share, with water making up 82.5% of its total area. Water area and water percentage answer different questions: the first measures an amount, while the second measures the mix of land and water.

Across all 64 entries, water accounts for 17.5% of the combined total area. This is calculated from the summed land and water measurements, rather than averaging county percentages, which would give each small and large county equal weight.

Compare the largest and smallest county equivalents in Louisiana to see land, water, and total area on the same scale.

These calculations use the 2026 Census county records listed below. County-equivalent boundaries vary between states; area alone does not measure population, density, or usable land. See coverage and calculation rules.

Complete area table

Sorted from largest to smallest land area.

#	County / equivalent	Land	Water	Water share
1	Vernon ParishGEOID 22115	1,326.7 mi²	13.6 mi²	1%
2	Rapides ParishGEOID 22079	1,324.1 mi²	37.4 mi²	2.7%
3	Cameron ParishGEOID 22023	1,290.7 mi²	646 mi²	33.4%
4	Natchitoches ParishGEOID 22069	1,253 mi²	46.5 mi²	3.6%
5	Terrebonne ParishGEOID 22109	1,229.9 mi²	852.4 mi²	40.9%
6	Vermilion ParishGEOID 22113	1,172.1 mi²	359.9 mi²	23.5%
7	Beauregard ParishGEOID 22011	1,157.5 mi²	8.5 mi²	0.7%
8	Lafourche ParishGEOID 22057	1,069.7 mi²	398.7 mi²	27.2%
9	Calcasieu ParishGEOID 22019	1,064.2 mi²	30 mi²	2.7%
10	Winn ParishGEOID 22127	950 mi²	6.7 mi²	0.7%
11	St. Landry ParishGEOID 22097	923.4 mi²	15.7 mi²	1.7%
12	Caddo ParishGEOID 22017	879.5 mi²	57.5 mi²	6.1%
13	Union ParishGEOID 22111	876.9 mi²	28.4 mi²	3.1%
14	De Soto ParishGEOID 22031	876.5 mi²	18.1 mi²	2%
15	Sabine ParishGEOID 22085	866.6 mi²	144.9 mi²	14.3%
16	St. Tammany ParishGEOID 22103	845.3 mi²	250.3 mi²	22.8%
17	Bossier ParishGEOID 22015	839.6 mi²	27.3 mi²	3.1%
18	Avoyelles ParishGEOID 22009	831.4 mi²	34.3 mi²	4%
19	Bienville ParishGEOID 22013	811.3 mi²	10.8 mi²	1.3%
20	Morehouse ParishGEOID 22067	795 mi²	11.2 mi²	1.4%
21	Tangipahoa ParishGEOID 22105	791.2 mi²	52.8 mi²	6.3%
22	Plaquemines ParishGEOID 22075	780.6 mi²	1,786.6 mi²	69.6%
23	Allen ParishGEOID 22003	762.1 mi²	4 mi²	0.5%
24	Claiborne ParishGEOID 22027	754.8 mi²	12.5 mi²	1.6%
25	St. Martin ParishGEOID 22099	737.5 mi²	79.2 mi²	9.7%
26	Catahoula ParishGEOID 22025	709.3 mi²	30.2 mi²	4.1%
27	Concordia ParishGEOID 22029	695.7 mi²	51.7 mi²	6.9%
28	Washington ParishGEOID 22117	669.6 mi²	6.2 mi²	0.9%
29	Evangeline ParishGEOID 22039	662.4 mi²	17.2 mi²	2.5%
30	Acadia ParishGEOID 22001	655.2 mi²	2.3 mi²	0.3%
31	Jefferson Davis ParishGEOID 22053	651.5 mi²	7.2 mi²	1.1%
32	Livingston ParishGEOID 22063	648.1 mi²	43.3 mi²	6.3%
33	Grant ParishGEOID 22043	643.8 mi²	21.1 mi²	3.2%
34	LaSalle ParishGEOID 22059	624.9 mi²	37.7 mi²	5.7%
35	Franklin ParishGEOID 22041	624.3 mi²	10.8 mi²	1.7%
36	Madison ParishGEOID 22065	623.9 mi²	26.4 mi²	4.1%
37	Iberville ParishGEOID 22047	617.3 mi²	35.7 mi²	5.5%
38	Ouachita ParishGEOID 22073	610.1 mi²	21.6 mi²	3.4%
39	Tensas ParishGEOID 22107	603.3 mi²	38.4 mi²	6%
40	Webster ParishGEOID 22119	593.3 mi²	21.6 mi²	3.5%
41	Iberia ParishGEOID 22045	574.7 mi²	465.6 mi²	44.8%
42	Jackson ParishGEOID 22049	569.7 mi²	10.7 mi²	1.8%
43	St. Mary ParishGEOID 22101	558.5 mi²	561.2 mi²	50.1%
44	Richland ParishGEOID 22083	555.6 mi²	8.8 mi²	1.6%
45	Pointe Coupee ParishGEOID 22077	555.5 mi²	34.9 mi²	5.9%
46	Caldwell ParishGEOID 22021	529.8 mi²	11.2 mi²	2.1%
47	Lincoln ParishGEOID 22061	471.6 mi²	0.7 mi²	0.2%
48	East Baton Rouge ParishGEOID 22033	455.5 mi²	14.9 mi²	3.2%
49	East Feliciana ParishGEOID 22037	453.3 mi²	2.4 mi²	0.5%
50	East Carroll ParishGEOID 22035	421.2 mi²	21.4 mi²	4.8%
51	St. Helena ParishGEOID 22091	408.5 mi²	1.1 mi²	0.3%
52	West Feliciana ParishGEOID 22125	403.2 mi²	22.8 mi²	5.3%
53	Red River ParishGEOID 22081	389 mi²	13.2 mi²	3.3%
54	St. Bernard ParishGEOID 22087	377.5 mi²	1,777.7 mi²	82.5%
55	West Carroll ParishGEOID 22123	359.7 mi²	0.9 mi²	0.3%
56	Assumption ParishGEOID 22007	344 mi²	25.9 mi²	7%
57	Jefferson ParishGEOID 22051	300.9 mi²	341.2 mi²	53.1%
58	Ascension ParishGEOID 22005	290 mi²	12.7 mi²	4.2%
59	St. Charles ParishGEOID 22089	277.7 mi²	119.2 mi²	30%
60	Lafayette ParishGEOID 22055	268.8 mi²	0.4 mi²	0.2%
61	St. James ParishGEOID 22093	237.9 mi²	15 mi²	5.9%
62	St. John the Baptist ParishGEOID 22095	214.5 mi²	195.5 mi²	47.7%
63	West Baton Rouge ParishGEOID 22121	192.3 mi²	11.4 mi²	5.6%
64	Orleans ParishGEOID 22071	169.6 mi²	180.3 mi²	51.5%

How to read this table. Land and water areas are Census statistical measurements in square miles. Adding county rows can differ slightly from separately published state totals because of rounding and geographic treatment.