Metairie Métairie (French) | |
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 Metairie Central Business District | |
 Flag | |
  Metairie Location of Metairie in Louisiana Show map of Louisiana Metairie Metairie (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:29°59′52″N90°10′39″W / 29.99778°N 90.17750°W /29.99778; -90.17750 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Louisiana |
| Parish | Jefferson |
| Area | |
• Total | 23.30 sq mi (60.35 km2) |
| • Land | 23.26 sq mi (60.24 km2) |
| • Water | 0.042 sq mi (0.11 km2) |
| Elevation | 3 ft (0.91 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 143,507 |
| • Density | 6,170.1/sq mi (2,382.27/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 70001–70006, 70009–70011, 70033, 70055, 70060 |
| Area code | 504 |
| GNIS feature ID | 555301 |
Metairie (/ˈmɛtəri/MET-ər-ee) is anunincorporated community andcensus-designated place (CDP) inJefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and is part of theNew Orleans metropolitan area. With a population of 143,507 in 2020,[2] Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish, the fifth-largest CDP in the United States, and the largest outsideClark County, Nevada.[3] It is an unincorporated area that (as of 2020) would have beenLouisiana's fourth-largest city behindShreveport if incorporated.[4][5]
Métairie (French:[metɛʁi]) is theFrench term for a small tenant farm which paid the landlord with a share of the produce, a practice also known assharecropping (in French,métayage). In the 1760s, many of the original French farmers were tenants; after theCivil War, the majority of the community's inhabitants were sharecroppers until urbanization started in the 1910s.
In the 1720s, French settlers became the first Europeans to settle Metairie in the area known then as Tchoupitoulas and now as Metairie Ridge, a natural levee formed by an ancient branch of the Mississippi River,Bayou Metairie, which flowed through modern-dayRiver Ridge, Metairie,Gentilly, andNew Orleans East. It emptied intoMississippi Sound. TheAcolapissa Native Americans used this ridge as a road; it is the oldest road in the New Orleans area. An electricstreetcar was installed running along the road in the late 1910s, opening the area to greater development.[6][7] Upscale housing tracts were constructed off the road in the 1920s; this area is now known as "Old Metairie".[8]
The1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane, with winds of 125 mph (201 km/h), directly hit Metairie. Much of the community was under 6 feet (1.8 m) of water.[9]
Hurricane Betsy, a Category 3 storm, hit the area in 1965, causing extensive wind damage and moderate flooding.[10] Thirty years later, theMay 8, 1995 Louisiana flood, which dumped upwards of 20 inches (510 mm) of rain on Metairie in a twelve-hour period, also flooded some parts of the region, especially areas south and west of Metairie, including Kenner,Harahan, and River Ridge.[11]
In 1989, a Metairie district electedwhite supremacistDavid Duke to the Louisiana state legislature for a single term.[12]
On August 29, 2005,Hurricane Katrina caused a new migration from Orleans Parish, because housing was needed to replace what had been destroyed in the flooding of the city.[citation needed]
Veterans Boulevard was laid out alongside a drainagecanal, and became a commercial center of the region. Thecentral business district of Metairie is located on Causeway Boulevard near Lake Pontchartrain. In the 1970s and early 1980s, an area ofbars andnightclubs opened in a section of Metairie known as "Fat City". Several New Orleans radio and television stations have also established transmitter facilities in Metairie and Jefferson Parish; two of them,WGNO-TV andWNOL, now have studios and main offices in Metairie.[13]
Metairie is located in easternJefferson Parish and is bordered byNew Orleans to the east,Kenner to the west,Lake Pontchartrain to the north, and theIllinois Central Railroad tracks to the south. South of the railroad areRiver Ridge, Harahan,Elmwood, andJefferson. The17th Street Canal forms the border between Metairie and New Orleans to the east. It is a principal community inGreater New Orleans. According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the Metairie CDP has a total area of 23.2 square miles (60.2 km2), of which 23.2 square miles (60.1 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km2), or 0.18%, is water.[14]
The climate of Metairie has been classified ashumid subtropical. Like the city of New Orleans, it has short, generally mild winters and hot, humid summers. The average precipitation is 62.5 in (1,590 mm) annually; the summer months are the wettest, while October is the driest month.[15] Precipitation in winter usually accompanies the passing of a cold front. On average, there are 77 days of 90 °F (32 °C) or greater highs, 8.1 days per winter where the high does not exceed 50 °F (10 °C), and 8.0 nights with freezing lows annually. It is rare for the temperature to reach 20 or 100 °F (−6.7 or 37.8 °C), with the last occurrence of each being February 5, 1996, and June 26, 2016, respectively.[15]
| Climate data for Metairie, Louisiana | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 82 (28) | 85 (29) | 88 (31) | 93 (34) | 96 (36) | 99 (37) | 101 (38) | 103 (39) | 101 (38) | 97 (36) | 87 (31) | 84 (29) | 103 (39) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 63 (17) | 66 (19) | 73 (23) | 79 (26) | 85 (29) | 90 (32) | 92 (33) | 92 (33) | 88 (31) | 81 (27) | 72 (22) | 65 (18) | 79 (26) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 45 (7) | 48 (9) | 55 (13) | 60 (16) | 68 (20) | 73 (23) | 75 (24) | 75 (24) | 72 (22) | 62 (17) | 54 (12) | 48 (9) | 61 (16) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 16 (−9) | 20 (−7) | 28 (−2) | 37 (3) | 51 (11) | 54 (12) | 64 (18) | 64 (18) | — | — | — | — | 16 (−9) |
| [citation needed] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 136,477 | — | |
| 1980 | 164,160 | 20.3% | |
| 1990 | 149,428 | −9.0% | |
| 2000 | 146,136 | −2.2% | |
| 2010 | 138,481 | −5.2% | |
| 2020 | 143,507 | 3.6% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[16] 1960[17] 1970[18] 1980[19] 1990[20] 2000[21] 2010[22]2020[23] | |||
Metairie first appeared as an unincorporated community in the1970 U.S. census;[18][17] and as acensus designated place in the1980 United States census.[19]
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[24] | Pop 2010[25] | Pop 2020[23] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 119,535 | 100,280 | 89,070 | 81.80% | 72.41% | 62.07% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 9,860 | 14,020 | 15,827 | 6.75% | 10.12% | 11.03% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 336 | 294 | 247 | 0.23% | 0.21% | 0.17% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 4,002 | 4,458 | 5,474 | 2.74% | 3.22% | 3.81% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | 31 | 39 | 24 | 0.02% | 0.03% | 0.02% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 129 | 372 | 817 | 0.09% | 0.27% | 0.57% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 1,648 | 1,571 | 4,604 | 1.13% | 1.13% | 3.21% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 10,595 | 17,447 | 27,444 | 7.25% | 12.60% | 19.12% |
| Total | 146,136 | 138,481 | 143,507 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
According to the 2019American Community Survey, there were 130,427 people living in the census-designated place.[26] At the2010 United States census,[27] there were 138,481 people living in Metairie.[3] The2020 census reported 143,507 people living in the CDP. As of 2019, population density was 5,607.7 people per square mile, with a median age of 40.6.
At the 2019 American Community Survey, the racial and ethnic makeup was 69%non-Hispanic white, 10%Black and African American, 4%Asian, 1% multiracial, and 16%Hispanic and Latino American. According to 2017 census estimates, the racial makeup of Metairie was 67.5% White, 16.2% Hispanic or Latino American of any race, 9.9% Black and African American, 3.9% Asian, 0.7% fromother races, 0.9% from two or more races, and 0.1%Native American.[28] By the time of the 2020 census, its racial and ethnic makeup was 62.89% non-Hispanic white, 10.98% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 3.73% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 18.20% two or more races, and 18.42% Hispanic or Latino American of any race.[29]
Among the population of Metairie, 52% were female in 2019. There were 56,421 households with an average of 2.63 persons per household. An estimated 52% of households were married couples living together, 23% non-family, 18% female householder with no male present, and 7% male householder with no female present. Approximately 61,354 housing units were in the community, and 92% were occupied; 59% of housing units were owner-occupied, and 64% of housing units were single unit structures. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $246,600, and the median household income was $60,404. Residents had a per capita income of $35,007 at the 2019 American Community Survey.[26]
In Metairie, an estimated 54.1% of adult residents identified with some religion as of 2019. Due to Spanish and French colonial influence, Metairie and the surrounding area have an overwhelmingly Catholic populace. Approximately 34.6% identified with theCatholic Church, served by theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans; 5.9% wereBaptist, 3.1%Pentecostal, 1.4%Methodist, 0.6%Lutheran, 0.6%Latter-Day Saints, 0.5%Anglican, and 0.5% from anotherChristian group including theMetropolitan Community Church among others.[30]
At this survey, approximately 0.7% wereMuslims and 0.4% identified with anEastern religion such asHinduism,Buddhism, orSikhism;[30] 0.6% of the community claimed affiliation withJudaism.[30] Metairie is home to Congregation Gates of Prayer, aReform synagogue, and beside it isCongregation Beth Israel, the oldestOrthodox congregation in the New Orleans metro area. Beth Israel constructed its new building in Metairie in 2012, several years after its building inLakeview, New Orleans was destroyed byHurricane Katrina.[31]
Metarie has the headquarters of Rawbar Inc., which operatesAcme Oyster House, a restaurant chain.[32]
Jefferson Parish Library operates public libraries.[33] The East Bank Regional Library, which houses the library system's headquarters, is in Metairie.[34] Other public libraries in Metairie include the Lakeshore Library,[35] the Old Metairie Library,[36] and the Wagner Library.[37]
Three Lakeway Center is 403 feet (123 m), and is the tallest building in Louisiana outside ofNew Orleans andBaton Rouge.[38][39]The Galleria is 269 feet (82 m).[40][41]
Metairie was home to theNew Orleans Baby CakesTriple-AMinor League Baseball team of thePacific Coast League from 1993 to 2019. Theminor league club played its home games atPrivateer Park, home to theUniversity of New Orleans'sNCAA baseball team, from 1992 through 1996, and atShrine on Airline from 1997 to 2019.
The training facilities ofNFL franchiseNew Orleans Saints and theNBA franchiseNew Orleans Pelicans are located in Metairie.[42][43] As such, many players reside in the area.[44]
Boxing cards have been held in theCopeland Tower Suites (formerly Landmark Hotel).[45][46]
Beginning in 2020, theNew Orleans Gold ofMajor League Rugby play their homes games in Metairie at theGold Mine on Airline.
Notable parks includeLafreniere Park andPontiff Playground.
Metairie's public schools are operated by theJefferson Parish Public School System.[47]
There is one zoned public high school in Metairie:East Jefferson High School. Additionally, many residents are zoned toAlfred Bonnabel High School inKenner andRiverdale High School inJefferson.[48][33]
Previously, some residents were zoned toGrace King High School in Metairie.[49] Grace King High School closed in 2023.[50]
Mass transit is provided byJefferson Transit.[51]
Major roads includeInterstate 10,Veterans Memorial Boulevard andEarhart Expressway.[52] TheLake Pontchartrain Causeway's southern terminus lies in Metairie.[53]
110 VETERANS MEMORIAL BLVD STE 203A METAIRIE, LA 70005-4914
Municipalities and communities ofJefferson Parish, Louisiana,United States | ||
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