Elevation of Lafayette
37ft
above sea level · 11 m
Lafayette is a city in Louisiana with 123,311 people, the 5th most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 39th lowest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 30.22° N · 92.02° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 30° 13′ 27″ N · 92° 1′ 11″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 15R · 594,323 E · 3,344,023 N
- Zone 15 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Central Time
- UTC−6 · UTC−5 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 123,311 people
- 56.4 sq mi of land · 2,184 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from November 2019: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Lafayette had 123,311 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 1.6% more than in April 2020, when it had 121,393. Its 56.4 sq mi of land work out to 2,184 people/sq mi; the state average is 107 people/sq mi.
It’s the 5th most populous of the 482 places the Census counts in Louisiana (cities, towns and CDPs), after New Orleans (362,154), and holds 2.7% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Lafayette Parish. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 1.4 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000
Lafayette sits at 37 ft (11 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: Lafayette is 825 ft below it.
The state capital, Baton Rouge, is 54 mi away in a straight line and 9 ft higher than Lafayette.
The nearest city with more than 250,000 people is New Orleans, 118 mi away in a straight line and 37 ft lower.
Of the 4 cities in Louisiana with a page, Lafayette is the 2nd lowest. The others are Shreveport (150 ft), Baton Rouge (46 ft), and New Orleans (0 ft).
The highest point in Louisiana is Driskill Mountain, at 535 ft according to the USGS: 498 ft above Lafayette, 161 mi away in a straight line.
- 210 Lafayette 37 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Lafayette.
What is the elevation of Lafayette?
Lafayette is 37 feet (11 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Lafayette?
Latitude 30.22409 and longitude -92.01984, in decimal degrees (30° 13′ 27″ N · 92° 1′ 11″ W). In UTM, zone 15: 594,323 E and 3,344,023 N, on NAD83.
How does Lafayette rank among the highest US cities of its size?
It’s the 39th lowest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
What county is Lafayette in?
Lafayette Parish, Louisiana.
Which is higher, Lafayette or Baton Rouge?
Baton Rouge. Lafayette sits at 37 ft and Baton Rouge at 46 ft: a difference of 9 ft, 54 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know