Rapides Parish, Louisiana

Rapides Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States, centred on the Red River of the South in the state’s central region. It had a population of 130,023 at the 2020 census and covers 1,362 square miles (3,528 km2) — the largest parish in Louisiana by land area — centred near 31°12′N 92°32′W.

Alexandria is the parish seat, and its postal code is 71301. The parish holds 2 cities, 6 towns, 2 villages and dozens of unincorporated communities. It sits in the Central time zone.

Towns & Villages in Rapides Parish

Rapides Parish’s settlements split between two incorporated cities on the Red River, six smaller towns, two villages, and a long list of unincorporated crossroads, mill sites and river landings scattered across the parish’s pine and bottomland terrain. CDP = census-designated place (unincorporated but tracked by the Census Bureau); Unincorp. = unincorporated community with no municipal government.

Mora is a further unincorporated community with its own ZIP code (71455) that the older list omitted; it is added here. Several names on this list — Bennett Bay Landing, Blue Lake Landing, Clubhouse Landing, Dove Landing and Hester Landing — are Red River boat landings rather than settlements in the usual sense, but each carries its own place name in county records and is kept for that reason.

ZIP Codes

• 71301, 71302, 71303, 71306, 71307, 71309, 71315 — Alexandria
• 71359, 71360, 71361 — Pineville
• 71405 — Ball
• 71409 — Boyce
• 71325 — Cheneyville
• 71433 — Glenmora
• 71346 — Lecompte
• 71485 — Woodworth
• 71430 — Forest Hill
• 71477 — Tioga
• 71328 — Deville
• 71330 — Echo
• 71424 — Elmer
• 71427 — Flatwoods
• 71431 — Gardner
• 71438 — Hineston
• 71447 — Lena
• 71448 — Longleaf
• 71348 — Libuse
• 71455 — Mora
• 71466 — Otis
• 71365 — Ruby
• 71472 — Sieper

Most of the parish’s smaller crossroads and river landings have no ZIP of their own and are served by the nearest post office town listed above.

Geography

Rapides Parish covers 1,362 square miles of central Louisiana, the largest land area of any parish in the state. Land makes up 1,318 square miles and water 44 square miles (3.2 percent), split between the Red River of the South, which bisects the parish through Alexandria and Pineville, and a scatter of bayous and oxbow lakes to the south and east. The parish’s southern half runs into rolling pine hills of the Kisatchie uplands; its northern and eastern reaches flatten into Red River alluvial bottomland.

Rapides Parish borders Grant Parish to the north, LaSalle Parish to the northeast, Avoyelles Parish to the east, Evangeline Parish to the southeast, Allen Parish to the southwest, Vernon Parish to the west, and Natchitoches Parish to the northwest.

Demographics

Rapides Parish had 130,023 residents at the 2020 census. Alexandria (45,275) and Pineville (14,384) are its two largest communities, together holding nearly half the parish’s population. The Louisiana median household income was $58,229 in the 2023 American Community Survey; Rapides Parish, with a large service and healthcare workforce alongside pockets of rural poverty, tracks close to that state figure rather than above or below it by a wide margin. Spread across 1,318 square miles of land, the parish’s overall density works out to roughly 99 people per square mile, though most residents cluster in and around the Alexandria–Pineville urban area on the Red River.

Economy & Local Life

Healthcare, retail and government employment anchor the parish economy, centred on Alexandria as the commercial hub for central Louisiana. Fort Johnson (the Army post long known as Fort Polk lies in neighboring Vernon Parish, but its personnel and contractor traffic reach into Rapides) and England Airpark — the redeveloped former England Air Force Base — are both regional economic anchors. Forestry and pulpwood remain significant in the parish’s pine-belt south, and the Red River supports barge traffic through the parish. Alexandria hosts the annual Cenla Bridge Bash and a Mardi Gras parade season shared across central Louisiana.

History

Rapides Parish was organized in 1807, four years after the Louisiana Purchase brought the territory into the United States. Its name comes from the French word “rapides,” for the rapids that once broke the Red River’s flow near Alexandria before channel work smoothed them. The parish grew around cotton and timber in the 19th century; England Air Force Base, opened during World War II and closed in 1992, later shaped Alexandria’s economy as a civilian airpark and industrial site.

Getting There

Interstate 49 runs north–south through Alexandria and Pineville, meeting U.S. Highway 71 and U.S. Highway 165 at the parish’s commercial core.

• Natchitoches — 45 miles northwest
• Baton Rouge — 130 miles southeast
• Shreveport — 90 miles north
• Lafayette — 90 miles south

Alexandria International Airport, on the parish’s south side, offers the nearest commercial air service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Rapides Parish?
It is in central Louisiana, on the Red River of the South, about 90 miles south of Shreveport.

What is the population of Rapides Parish?
130,023 at the 2020 census.

How big is Rapides Parish?
1,362 square miles (3,528 km2), the largest parish in Louisiana by land area.

What is the Rapides Parish seat?
Alexandria is the county seat.

How many towns are in Rapides Parish?
Two cities (Alexandria and Pineville), six towns, two villages and dozens of unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes are in Rapides Parish?
Alexandria uses 71301-71303 and several others; Pineville uses 71359-71361; smaller towns each carry their own ZIP, listed above.

What river runs through Rapides Parish?
The Red River of the South, which flows through Alexandria and Pineville.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Louisiana.