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 7,616 square miles of area.
The Central region is made up of eight parishes and 7,339 square miles of total area.
Louisiana’s Northeast region is home to the most individual parishes, 12 and has a total area of 7,241 square miles.
Middle Four Regions
Four groups of parishes hover around the regional average of 4,800 square miles of total area.
The River Parishes region contains seven parishes and 6,055 square miles of total area.
The Acadiana region is not far behind with 5,934 square miles of total area spread across seven parishes.
The four parishes in the New Orleans Core region have 5,739 square miles of total area spread across them.
The Southwest region’s five parishes contain 5,622 square miles of total area.
Smallest Two Regions
The North Shore region is made up of five parishes and 3,735 square miles of total area.
There are seven parishes in the Baton Rouge Core region and they share 3,103 square miles of total area.
Northwest Parishes by Total Area
Natchitoches parish is the largest jurisdiction in the Northwest region by total area as well as the oldest. Sabine and Caddo parishes are ranked #2 and #3, respectively. Red River parish is the smallest within the region with approximately 402 square miles of total area.
Central Parishes by Total Area
Rapides parish is the largest in the Central region with approximately 1,362 square miles of total. Vernon parish was established much later, 1807, but isn’t far behind Rapides with a current footprint of 1,341 square miles of total area. Grant and LaSalle are the region’s smallest parishes with 665 and 662 square miles of total area, respectively.
Northeast Parishes by Total Area
Union and Morehouse parishes are the Northeast region’s largest jurisdictions. Union parish was established in 1839 and has a current footprint of 905 square miles. Morehouse parish was established in 1844 and has a current footprint of 805 square miles. East and West Carroll parishes were the last two jurisdictions to be established in the Northeast region and they’re also the smallest. East has 442 square miles of total area and West has 361 square miles of total area.
River Parishes by Total Area
Terrebonne parish is the largest in the River Parishes by a wide margin. It was established in 1822 and has a current footprint of 2,080 square miles. Lafourche and St. Mary are comparably sized, with 1,474 and 1,119 square miles of total area, respectively.
The remaining four parishes in the region are all significantly smaller. The area footprint for the group is 345 square miles and St. James parish is the smallest with 258 square miles of total area.
Acadiana Parishes by Total Area
Vermillion parish was established in 1844 and is the Acadiana region’s largest jurisdiction. It sits with 1,542 square miles of total area. That is compared with the region’s second largest parish, Iberia, which has 1,031 square miles of total area.
Lafayette parish is tiny compared to its regional counterparts, with only 269 square miles of total area.
New Orleans Core Parishes by Total Area
Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes are the largest jurisdictions in the New Orleans Core region by major margins. Plaquemine’s current footprint is 2,567 square miles and St. Bernard’s footprint is 2,158 square miles. While the region is the smallest in the state, from a total area perspective, these two parishes are the largest individual jurisdictions in Louisiana.
Orleans parish is the smallest jurisdiction in the region, with 349 square miles of total area.
Southwest Parishes by Total Area
Cameron parish was established in 1870 and is the Southwest region’s largest jurisdiction. It sits with 1,937 square miles of total area. That is compared with the region’s second largest parish, Beauregard, which has 1,166 square miles of total area. Allen and Jefferson Davis parishes are the region’s smallest jurisdictions, with 766 and 659 square miles of total area, respectively.
North Shore Parishes by Total Area
St. Tammany parish is one of the North Shore’s oldest jurisdictions and also the largest. It was established in 1810 and has a current footprint of 1,124 square miles of total area. St. Helena parish was established in the same year as St. Tammany but is the region’s smallest jurisdiction with 409 square miles of total area.
Baton Rouge Core Parishes by Total Area
Iberville and Pointe Coupee parishes are the Baton Rouge Core region’s largest jurisdictions. Iberville has a current footprint of 653 square miles and Pointe Coupee’s area is 591 square miles. West Baton Rouge parish is the smallest jurisdiction in the region with 204 square miles of total area.
