The parishes in the greater New Orleans area are in the Southeast region of the state. New Orleans serves as the county seat for Orleans Parish. For Jefferson and St. Tammany Parishes, the parish seats are Gretna and Covington. Other parishes in the greater New Orleans area are Washington, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist and St. Bernard; the parish seats for these parishes are Franklinton, Hahnville, Edgard and Chalmette, respectively.
Louisiana's capital city, Baton Rouge, is also the county seat for East Baton Rouge Parish. Other "parish-parish seat" combinations in the greater Baton Rouge area are St. Helena-Greensburg, West Baton Rouge-Port Allen, Pointe Coupee-New Roads, Iberville-Plaquemine, Ascension-Donaldsonville and Livingston-Livingston. According to the "Weekly Citizen," Ascension is the fastest-growing parish in Louisiana. Clinton and St. Francisville are the parish seats of East and West Feliciana Parishes, respectively.
Lafayette is the unofficial capital and largest city of Acadiana, the name for the French Louisiana area in the southern region of the state. This city is also the county seat for Lafayette Parish while its neighboring cities -- Opelousas and St. Martinville -- are the parish seats for St. Landry and St. Martin Parishes, respectively. Other parishes in the greater Lafayette area are Iberia, Vermilion and Acadia Parishes; the parish seats for these parishes are New Iberia, Abbeville and Crowley, respectively.
The Shreveport-Bossier City area is the most-populated urban center in northern Louisiana; the cities are in Northwest Louisiana, and Shreveport is the parish seat for Caddo Parish. Neighboring parishes to Caddo are Bossier, Webster and DeSoto. The parish seats for these three parishes are Benton, Mansfield and Minden.
As the largest city in Southwest Louisiana, Lake Charles is also the parish seat for Calcasieu Parish and the principal city in Cameron Parish. Cameron's parish seat is Cameron. Another county in the greater Lake Charles area is Jefferson Davis Parish, and the parish seat for this parish is Jennings.
Northeast Louisiana's largest city, Monroe, is the parish seat of Ouachita Parish. The other parishes in greater Monroe are Union Parish -- which has Farmerville as its county seat -- and Morehouse Parish, with its county seat in Bastrop.
