FHA Loans in Louisiana
About This State and its People, Places, and Industries
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local government’s equivalent to counties. The largest parish by population is Jefferson Parish, and the largest by land area is Cameron Parish.Some Louisiana urban environments have a multicultural, multilingual heritage, being so strongly influenced by an admixture of 18th century French, Spanish and African cultures that they are considered to be somewhat exceptional in the U.S. Before the American influx and statehood at the beginning of the 19th century, the territory of current Louisiana State had been a Spanish and French colony. In addition, the pattern of development included importing numerous Africans in the 18th century, with many from the same region of West Africa, thus concentrating their culture.
As of July 2005 (prior to the landfall of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita), Louisiana has an estimated population of 4,523,628, which is an increase of 16,943, or 0.4%, from the prior year and an increase of 54,670, or 1.2%, since 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 129,889 people (that is 350,818 births minus 220,929 deaths) and a decrease due to net migration of 69,373 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 20,174 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 89,547 people. The population density of the state is 102.6 people per square mile. The center of population of Louisiana is located in Pointe Coupee Parish, in the city of New Roads. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 4.7% of the population aged 5 and older speak French or Cajun French at home, while 2.5% speak Spanish.
The total gross state product in 2005 for Louisiana was US$168 billion, placing it 24th in the nation. Its per capita personal income is $30,952, ranking 41st in the United States. The state's principal agricultural products include seafood (it is the biggest producer of crawfish in the world, supplying approximately 90%), cotton, soybeans, cattle, sugarcane, poultry and eggs, dairy products, and rice. The seafood industry directly supports an estimated 16,000 jobs.[38] Industry generates chemical products, petroleum and coal products, processed foods and transportation equipment, and paper products. Tourism is an important element in the economy, especially in the New Orleans area.
The Port of South Louisiana, located on the Mississippi between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, is the largest volume shipping port in the Western Hemisphere and 4th largest in the world, as well as the largest bulk cargo port in the world.
New Orleans and Shreveport are also home to a thriving film industry. State financial incentives and aggressive promotion have put the local film industry on a fast track. In late 2007 and early 2008, a 300,000-square-foot (28,000 m2) film studio was scheduled to open in Treme, with state-of-the-art production facilities, and a film training institute. Tabasco sauce, which is marketed by one of the United States' biggest producers of hot sauce, the McIlhenny Company, originated on Avery Island.
Louisiana has three personal income tax brackets, ranging from 2% to 6%. The sales tax rate is 4%: a 3.97% Louisiana sales tax and a .03% Louisiana Tourism Promotion District sales tax. Political subdivisions also levy their own sales tax in addition to the state fees. The state also has a use tax, which includes 4% to be distributed by the Department of Revenue to local governments. Property taxes are assessed and collected at the local level. Louisiana is a subsidized state, receiving $1.44 from the federal government for every dollar paid in.
Tourism and culture are major players in Louisiana's economy, earning an estimated $5.2 billion per year. Louisiana also hosts many important cultural events, such as the World Cultural Economic Forum, which is held annually in the fall at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center. As of January 2010, the state’s unemployment rate is 7.4%. An African American is three times as likely as a white person to be unemployed in Louisiana.
As of 2005, Louisiana is nominally the least populous state with more than one major professional sports league franchise: the National Basketball Association's New Orleans Hornets and the National Football League's Super Bowl XLIV Champions New Orleans Saints. Louisiana has an AAA Minor League baseball team, the New Orleans Zephyrs. The Zephyrs are currently affiliated with the Florida Marlins Northwest Louisiana is home to the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs of the CHL Central Hockey League who were also members of the now defunct WPHL Western Professional Hockey League where the Mudbugs won three consecutive league championships. Shreveport is the home of the Shreveport-Bossier Captains of the American Association (Independent Pro Baseball League).
Louisiana was also home the now defunct Monroe Moccasins, Alexandria Warthogs, and Lake Charles Ice Pirates of the WPHL and the Baton Rouge King Fish, New Orleans Brass and Louisiana IceGators of the ECHL East Coast Hockey League.
It should also be noted that from 1901–1959, New Orleans had a Double-A baseball team known as the Pelicans who won many league titles. Louisiana also has a proportionally high number of collegiate NCAA Division I sports for its size; the state has no Division II teams and only one Division III team. Baton Rouge is also home to the six-time College World Series Champions and the NCAA AP (1958) and three-time BCS National Champions, the 1957, 2003, and 2007 Tigers of Louisiana State University.
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- Abbeville
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