Last updated on April 29th, 2020
38. At age 13, Dolly Parton recorded her first ever single “Puppy Love” at the Goldband Records studio in Lake Charles. She wrote it two years prior and shows how well she could create relatable songs even at a young age. Parton went on to reach the Billboard #1 in the country charts 26 times.
39. Louisiana is the birthplace of American Jazz.[16]
40. After Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee; Louisiana is the fourth most religious state in the U.S.[17]
41. After New Orleans, Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, is the second largest city in the state.
42. Voodoo is widely practiced in New Orleans. Early proponents included migrants from the Haiti slave revolt of 1791 and freed people of color from West Africa. They merged their religious rituals with local Catholic practices. Voodoo kings and queens were powerful political figures in the city during the 1800s.
43. The unemployment rate in Louisiana in August 2018 was 5% as compared to that of 4.1% of Alabama. In 2017, the GDP per capita for Louisiana was $52,602 as compared to that of Alabama, which was $43,377.[18]
44. According to The Tax Foundation, a conservative, nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., since 2016, Louisiana has carried the title of the state with the highest average sales tax in the U.S. However, this year in July the tax rate was lowered to bring the average down.
45. Louisiana has the sixth highest adult obesity rate in the U.S. and the eighth highest obesity rate for youth ages 10 to 17. For in-depth information about the state of obesity in Louisiana, refer to this page.
46. The Conrad Rice Mill located in New Iberia, Louisiana, is the oldest independently owned rice mill in the United States still in operation. It was established in 1912. Two of its buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 10, 1982.[19]
47. The first documented opera performed was staged at the Théâtre de la Rue St. Pierre in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 22, 1796.[20]
48. The legal system in Louisiana derives from the Civil Code established by the French emperor Napoleon in 1804. Thus the legal system of the state differs from the rest of the 49 states that follow English common law.[21]
49. In 1959, Breaux Bridge, a city in the St. Martin Parish, was designated as the “Crawfish Capital of the World.” This was done to honor the region which was known for its crawfish farming and cooking.
50. The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, sometimes only the Causeway, is a fixed link composed of two parallel bridges crossing Lake Pontchartrain in southern Louisiana, United States. The longer of the two bridges is 23.83 miles (38.35 km) long. It is the longest continuous bridge over water.[23]
51. Louisiana has the highest alligator population in the U.S. (approximately 2 million.) The highest populations of the alligator occur in coastal marshes. The state harvests less than 2% of the wild population annually.[24]
52. The Louisiana black bear was designated the official state mammal of Louisiana in 1992.
53. In 1861, during the Civil War, Louisiana left the Union. It rejoined the United States in 1868.
Louisiana – Quick facts and State symbols
| State Abbreviation | LA |
|---|---|
| State Capital | Baton Rouge |
| Largest City | New Orleans |
| State Size | Total (Land + Water): 51,840 sq miles; Land Only: 43,562 sq miles |
| Population | 4,659,978 (Estimate July 1, 2018 from United States Census Bureau) |
| Statehood | April 30, 1812 |
| State rank by population | 25th |
| State rank by date of formation | 18th |
| State rank by area | 31st |
| Number of Parishes | 64 Complete list of 50 states and number of counties in each |
| Demonym | Louisianan or Louisianian |
| Bordering States | Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas |
| Official Language | None |
| Highest Point | Driskill Mountain 535 ft (163 m) |
| Lowest point | New Orleans −8 ft (−2.5 m) |
| Mean elevation | 100 feet above sea level |
| Length | 379 miles (610 km) |
| Width | 130 miles (210 km) |
| Governor | John Bel Edwards (D) |
| Lieutenant Governor | Billy Nungesser (R) |
| Electoral Votes | 8 |
| State Motto | Union, justice, confidence |
| State Nickname | 1. Pelican State 2. Bayou State 3. Child of the Mississippi 4. The Creole State 5. The Mardi Gras State 6. The Cajun State 7. Jazz capital of the US 8. Bayou Country 9. Cajun Country 10. Sportsman's Paradise 11. Fisherman's Paradise 12. The Holland of America 13. Sugar State |
| % Water | 15 |
| Famous people | Aeneas Williams (Pro Football player) Willard Brown (Baseball player) Karl Malone (Basketball player) |
| State Amphibian | Green tree frog |
| State Bird | Brown pelican |
| State crustacean | Crawfish |
| State dog | Catahoula leopard dog |
| State fruit | Strawberry |
| State Flower | Magnolia |
| State Fossil | Petrified Palmwood |
| State fish | White perch |
| State Gemstone | Cabochon Cut Oyster Shell |
| State Insect | Honey bee |
| State Mammal | Black Bear |
| State mineral | Agate |
| State Reptile | American alligator |
| State Tree | Bald Cypress |
| Longitude | 88° 49′ W to 94° 03′ W |
| Latitude | 28° 56′ N to 33° 01′ N |
| Time Zone | Central Time Zone |
| Website | louisiana.gov |
| Area Codes | 225, 318, 337, 504, 985 |
| Table last updated | June 8, 2020 |