Louisiana Parishes: by Total Area
The first part of this story about Louisiana’s parishes was focused on their origins through a governmental and political sense. But at the core, parishes are fundamentally defined by the physical land.
As of 2025, Louisiana’s physical footprint comprises approximately 52,380 square miles of total area.
Largest Three Regions
The state’s Northwest region contains nine parishes with a collective 7,262 square miles of area.
The Central region is made up of eight parishes and 7,101 square miles of total area.
Louisiana’s Northeast region is home to the most individual parishes, 12 and has a total area of 7,043 square miles.
Middle Four Regions
Four groups of parishes hover around the regional average of 4,800 square miles of total area.
The Acadiana region contains seven parishes and 4,995 square miles of total area.
The Southwest region is not far behind with 4,919 square miles of total area spread across five parishes.
The seven parishes in the River Parishes region have 3,928 square miles of total area spread across them.
The North Shore’s five parishes contain 3,363 square miles of total area.
Smallest Two Regions
Two of Louisiana’s most prominent regions are characterized by also being the smallest, from a total area perspective.
The Baton Rouge Core region is made up of seven parishes and 2,969 square miles of total area.
There are four parishes in the New Orleans Core region and they share 1,623 square miles of total area.
