Youngsville is a city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, and is part of the Lafayette metropolitan statistical area. The population was 8,105 at the 2010 U.S. census, and 15,929 at the 2020 United States census.
Youngsville was the birthplace of Louisiana businessman and politician Dudley J. LeBlanc, the entrepreneur of the Hadacol fortune of the 1950s.
History
Youngsville was settled in the early 19th century by French Acadian farmers. Prior to 1839, George Roy and his son, Desire, laid out the area and named the community "Royville". The settlement had grown large enough by 1859 to establish one of the oldest Catholic churches in Lafayette Parish: St. Anne Church, on the community's oldest street, Church Street. In 1908, the U.S. Postal Service asked village leaders to change the name because the town was being confused with the north Louisiana town of Rayville. So in 1908, the village of Youngsville was incorporated, with the name meaning "young village". It chose a government of a mayor and three aldermen.
On January 20, 1983, Louisiana Governor David C. Treen declared Youngsville a town. The town increased its governing body to a mayor and five aldermen to accommodate its population.
Youngsville was the fastest growing town in Louisiana from 1990 to 2005. Its population has increased by over 300 percent. According to the 2010 U.S. census, Youngsville grew at a rate of 103% between year 2000 and 2010. Youngsville was declared a city by Governor Kathleen Blanco in 2006.
Although the city has extended its boundaries and expanded its services, Youngsville has remained a rural city surrounded by sugarcane farms.
Youngsville is home of the Youngsville Sports Complex, Youngsville Recreation Center, Sugar Beach, Pixus Splash Park and the Youngsville Amphitheater. These facilities host over 1.2 million sports players and visitors every year.
Geography
Youngsville is located in southeastern Lafayette Parish at (30.100595, -91.990707). It is bordered to the north by Lafayette, the parish seat, and to the east by the city of Broussard.
The center of Lafayette is to the north, Abbeville is to the southwest, and New Iberia is 16 miles to the southeast. According to the United States Census Bureau, Youngsville has a total land area of , all of it recorded as land.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Youngsville had a population of 15,929. The median age was 33.6 years. 31.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 8.0% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males age 18 and over.
97.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.4% lived in rural areas.
There were 5,577 households in Youngsville, of which 48.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 58.9% were married-couple households, 13.4% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and 20.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)
| 12,496
| 78.45%
|-
!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
| 1,446
| 9.08%
|-
!scope="row"| Native American
| 49
| 0.31%
|-
!scope="row"| Asian
| 350
| 2.2%
|-
!scope="row"| Pacific Islander
| 6
| 0.04%
|-
!scope="row"| Other/Mixed
| 573
| 3.6%
|-
!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino
| 1,009
| 6.33%
|}
2023 estimate
As of July 1, 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that 18,002 people lived in Youngsville.
2019 American Community Survey
In 2019, 11.2% of residents lived at or below the poverty line, and the median household income was $89,038.
Education
Public schools
Youngsville is part of the Lafayette Parish School System.
The public elementary schools in Youngsville are Green T. Lindon Elementary School and Ernest Gallet Elementary School. The Youngsville Middle School hosts students in sixth through eighth grades and is located in downtown Youngsville. All public school students from Youngsville attend Southside High School in Youngsville or attend Ovey Comeaux High School in southern Lafayette. Youngsville also has a charter school named Acadiana Renaissance Charter Academy.
Private schools
Private schools in the city include Westminster Christian Academy, located on the outskirts of Youngsville, and Youngsville Christian School, offering Kindergarten thru 12th grade in downtown Youngsville. Ascension Episcopal School, a private high school, is located near the Youngsville Sports Complex on Chemin Metaire Parkway across from Sugar Mill Pond.
Roadways
The city of Youngsville began construction of the Chemin Metairie Parkway Project in the spring of 2007 to improve the roads in and around Youngsville. The first segment, from the intersection of Highway 92 and Chemin Metairie, to central Youngsville, opened in early 2009. Originally called the Youngsville Parkway, the road was renamed to avoid confusion with the existing Youngsville Highway also known as Highway 89. Chemin Metairie Parkway joins Highway 90 near the Baker Hughes Complex in Broussard.
References
External links
- Official website
- Youngsville Chamber of Commerce
- Youngsville Sports Complex
- Youngsville Parks and Recreation
- Youngsville Police Department
- Youngsville Fire Department