St. Charles Parish, Louisiana


St. Charles Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 52,780. The parish seat is Hahnville.
The parish was formed in 1807, following the Louisiana Purchase by the United States in 1803. It was originally part of the German Coast, an area along the east bank of the Mississippi River that was settled by numerous German pioneers in the 1720s. This was historically an area of sugarcane plantations. The parish includes territory on both sides of the river.
St. Charles Parish is included in the New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Major highways

Politics

St. Charles Parish is governed by an executive branch and legislative branch. The executive branch is headed by the elected Parish President; currently Matthew Jewell.
The legislative branch consists of an elected nine-member council. The parish is divided into seven single-member districts, each of which is represented by an elected district council member. In addition, two at-large seats are elected on a parish-wide basis. The at-large seats are divided into an "A" seat and a "B" seat. The "A" seat representative must be a resident of the parish's east bank while the "B" seat must be held by a resident of the west bank. The last parish council election was in October / November 2019.
Members of the St. Charles Parish Council as of January 2020:
DistrictCouncil Member
At-Large Division "A"Wendy Benedetto
At-Large Division "B"Holly Fonseca
1La Sandra Darensbourg Gordon
2Mary K. Clulee
3Dick Gibbs
4Nicky Dufrene
5Marilyn B. Bellock
6Bob Fisher
7Julia Fisher-Perrier

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 48,072 people, 16,422 households, and 13,088 families residing in the parish. The population density was 170 people per square mile. There were 17,430 housing units at an average density of 62 per square mile. The racial makeup of the parish was 72.4% White, 25.2% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.8% of the population.
There were 16,422 households out of which 43.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.3% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the parish the population was spread out with 30.3% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $45,139, and the median income for a family was $50,562. Males had a median income of $40,651 versus $24,780 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $19,054. About 9.3% of families and 11.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.2% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

operates public schools.

Communities

There are no incorporated communities in St. Charles Parish.

Census-designated places