ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Good Food and Jobs in Lafayette LA

Updated on May 20, 2014

Alexandre Mouton House

House of the founder of the original 1821 settlement.
House of the founder of the original 1821 settlement. | Source

Founded by Acadians

The parish seat (county seat) of Lafayette Parish and the centerpiece of the Lafayette-Acadiana area, Lafayette City began as the Acadian settlement Vermilionville in the early 1820s. Later, it was christened in honor of French General Lafayette, who assisted the Americans in the Revolutionary War.

In the 20th century, the area became properous in its oil and natural gas discoveries, as well as its Creole and Cajun (Acadian) cuisine.

In the 21st century, Lafayette and surrounds, have targeted Green Industry and Urban renewal through DowntownAlive.org. Transportation in the downtown area is easy, with a transit system, taxis. Greyhound Bus Line, and Amtrak trains as well as Greyhound-Amtrak connections not available elsewhere in many states.

Very interesting are some of the nonprofits located downtown, including CODOFIL, the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana. Their website appears in three languages: French, English, and Creole at Codofil.org.

Lafayette-Acadiana

A
Lafayette Parish:
Lafayette, LA, USA

get directions

B
Acadiana:
Acadiana, Baton Rouge, LA 70806, USA

get directions

General and Marquis de Lafayette (Photos public domain).
General and Marquis de Lafayette (Photos public domain).

Top 10 Jobs in Lafayette-Acadiana

The Lafayette area is growing population, economy, and job openings, as shown in this Top 10 List. The population, however, is not keeping up with the number of job openings available.

  1. Taxi Drivers and Chauffeurs - Ths is an indication of the growing numbers of workers and tourists, including business travelers, entering the Lafayette-Acadiana Area.
  2. Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts (IT)
  3. Mainstream Preschool Teachers - This high demand occupation indicates that many children are being born to Young Professionals and Mid-Careerists in the area.
  4. Home Health Aides (HHAs)
  5. Medical Assistants
  6. Computer Software Applications Engineers (IT)
  7. Physical Therapist Assistants
  8. Hazardous Materials Removal Workers
  9. Public Relations Specialists
  10. Advertising and Promotions Managers - This category indicates an upswing in business economy.

Local historic cemetery.
Local historic cemetery.
City Flag
City Flag

Largest Employers in the Lafayette Area

The 5 largest employers in the Greater Lafayette Area include 5 that are among the Top 50 Largest Employers of the state:

  • Little Zorah Baptist Church (Number 1 in the state)
  • Acadiana Sharpening Service
  • Lafayette Information Service
  • Lafayette General Medical Cetner
  • University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Local Large Healthcare Employers:

Additional Fast Growth Jobs: IT, Environment, Health & Sports

  • Database Administrators (IT)
  • Computer Systems Software Engineers (IT)
  • Dental Hygienists & Assistants
  • Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, except EMTs
  • Chemical Technicians
  • Child Care Workers
  • Personal & Home Care Aides
  • Coaches and Talent Scouts
  • Physical Therapy Aides
  • Environmental Engineers
  • Obstetricians and Gynecologists

The Cajun Mardi Gras 2008

Sports Attractions

AREA SPORTS TEAMS

  • Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns of The University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
  • Lafayette Bayou Bulls - Semi-pro Football

ARENAS & VENUES

Local Higher Education

Branch Colleges and Universities:

Cajun Field

Cajun Field of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Cajun Field of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Cultural Heritage and Events

  • Festivals Acadiens - Series of festivals for recognition of Cajun culture. This is a well-constructed site that features 6 separate festivals celebrating music, crafts, food, heritage, and other aspects of Cajun and local life.
  • MechaCon.com - The growing popularity of Japanese Anime comics, graphic novels, and films is celebrated in Lafayette.
  • Mardi Gras - About as Big as New Orleans!

Recreational Pursuits - Engines, Tractor Pulls and More

Please visit this site operated with the help of a Lafayette native, Ralph Miller, a stationary engine enthusiast at OldEngine.Org.

Some of the information included onsite are amazing pictures of antique tractors and shop engines and:

BlitzBuild Post Katrina

Feufollet at the Blue Moon - Young Cajun Music

Native American Enterprises

  • Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana: 343 Navarro St, Charenton LA 70523; PH 337-923-7806
  • Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana: Tribal School
  • Chitimacha Gaming Commission
  • Chitimacha Tribe Development
  • Native American Refinery Co In‎c. - In nearby Evengeline

The Chitimacha Nation is more numerous in St. Mary's parish, but a few remain in the Lafayette-Acadiana statistical area as well. They settled the south of Louisiana around 500 AD.

Creoles are populous around Lafayette as well, being a mixture of African, Caucasian, Native American, Haitian, and Hispanic and other groups. This adds to the rich culture of the region.

Cajun Dance Lesson

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)