Lafayette, LA has 413,428 residents and sits 132nd among the 387 US metropolitan areas by population. Households, home values, education, business density, and which trades are already crowded, all from Census data.
The metropolitan statistical area is centered on Lafayette, Louisiana.
The median home value of $214,400 is 36 percent below the national figure. A $60,892 median household income puts Lafayette, LA 25 percent below the national figure. Read together, they frame the buying power of the market.
68.2% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 3 points above the US share. The civilian labor force numbers 199,474 people with unemployment at 5.3%, about the same as the US share. Among adults 25 and over, 27.6% have at least a bachelor's degree, 8 points below the US share. A younger-than-average population: median age 37.3, 1.6 years below the national median.
Relative to Louisiana, household income in Lafayette, LA is about the same as the Louisiana figure, home values are about the same as the Louisiana figure, and businesses per 1,000 residents are 22 percent denser than the Louisiana figure.
There are 11,874 employer businesses in Lafayette, LA. That is 28.7 establishments per 1,000 people, 15 percent above the national figure. The busiest category listed below is restaurants (746 establishments). Home-services trades account for 527 of them (4.4% of all establishments, about the same as the US share).
| Category | Locations | Per 100k people | Local ÷ US share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highway, street and bridge construction | 15 | 3.6 | 1.14× |
| Concrete foundation and structure contractors | 25 | 6 | 0.75× |
| Roofing contractors | 26 | 6.3 | 0.72× |
| Self-storage facilities | 38 | 9.2 | 1.44× |
| Automobile dealers | 56 | 13.5 | 0.84× |
| General automotive repair | 78 | 18.9 | 0.65× |
| Other specialty trade contractors (paving, asphalt, fencing) | 80 | 19.4 | 1.32× |
| Beauty salons | 81 | 19.6 | 0.68× |
| Child day care services | 97 | 23.5 | 0.83× |
| Electrical contractors | 111 | 26.8 | 0.94× |
| Landscaping services | 113 | 27.3 | 0.67× |
| General freight trucking | 127 | 30.7 | 0.76× |
| Personal care services (all) | 144 | 34.8 | 0.63× |
| Grocery and convenience retailers | 154 | 37.2 | 1.09× |
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 172 | 41.6 | 1.09× |
| Dentists | 172 | 41.6 | 0.89× |
| Lessors of real estate (all) | 176 | 42.6 | 0.91× |
| Physicians' offices | 454 | 109.8 | 1.47× |
| Legal services | 487 | 117.8 | 1.89× |
| Restaurants and other eating places | 746 | 180.4 | 0.85× |
The last column divides the local share of establishments by the national share (1.00 = the same mix as the US).
Some trades are heavier here than in the country at large: legal services, physicians' offices, self-storage operators and specialty trade contractors. The sharpest example is legal services: 487 establishments, 1.9 times the share seen nationally. Fewer than the national pattern would suggest: personal care services, general automotive repair, landscaping services and beauty salons. Personal care services show the largest gap, 144 locations, about 63% of what the national mix would give. Close to the national mix: plumbing and HVAC contractors, electrical contractors and road and paving contractors.
Relative to population the leaders are restaurants (180.4 per 100,000 residents), legal services and physicians' offices. Three categories dominate by count: restaurants at 746, legal services at 487 and physicians' offices at 454. Taken as groups, the strongest relative to the US mix are legal services (1.9 times the national share) and the weakest are automotive businesses (about 72% of).
When legal services, physicians' offices and self-storage operators are this common, customers compare. That makes the review profile and the speed of the first reply the deciding factors, and it makes conversion tracking essential so budget flows to the searches that turn into booked work. In personal care services, general automotive repair and landscaping services, the shortage of local establishments is an opening: the searches are there, the competition for them is not, and a listing that ranks plus a page that converts can own the category quickly. Younger residents (median age 1.6 years below the national median) split their attention between search, social feeds and AI assistants, so the presence has to be in all three. Income 25 percent below the national figure puts price front and center; ads that state the offer plainly and make calling easy do best. Homeownership of 68.2% is above the national share; more of the households that search for home services are also the ones that decide and pay.
Where to start in Lafayette, LA, based on the competition profile above.
Measurement that ties spend to phone calls and form fills.
Google search ads for the exact services and towns, tracked to the phone call.
Listing management for the map results that most local searches start and end with.
Ranking for the service-and-town searches without paying per click.
A fast site with the services, the area served and a clear way to call or book.
Google Guaranteed placements above the ads for the home-service and legal categories that qualify.
Lafayette, LA has 413,428 residents (US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimate), ranking 132nd of 387 metropolitan areas.
The median household income in Lafayette, LA is $60,892 (ACS 2024 5-year), below the US median of $80,734.
The Census Bureau counts 11,874 employer establishments in Lafayette, LA (County Business Patterns 2023), or 28.7 businesses per 1,000 residents.
The median home value in Lafayette, LA is $214,400, and 68.2% of homes are owner-occupied (ACS 2024 5-year).
Measured against the US business mix (County Business Patterns 2023), legal services, physicians' offices and self-storage operators have more establishments per resident than the US average; personal care services, general automotive repair and landscaping services have fewer in Lafayette, LA.
A short call, a free audit of your current listing and site, and a plan built on what actually competes in this market.
Data: US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimates and County Business Patterns 2023. Updated 2026-09-29.