Editing Lafayette, Louisiana (section)

== Economy ==
[[File:Downtown Lafayette LA 2021 3.jpg|thumb|IberiaBank (now First Horizon Bank) tower, downtown Lafayette]]
Established and occupied as an agricultural community until the 1940s, Lafayette became a center of the [[oil and natural gas industry]] in Louisiana.<ref name=":6" /> In addition, the city and its metropolitan area became major centers for [[Technology industry|technology]], [[Health care in the United States|health care and social services]], [[aerospace]], [[banking]] and [[retail]] from the latter 20th- and early 21st centuries.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" />

As of 2021, the consolidated city–parish's top employers have been the [[Lafayette Parish School System]], Lafayette General Health, Wood Group Production Services, Lafayette Consolidated Government, the [[University of Louisiana at Lafayette]], WHC, Inc., [[Walmart]], [[Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center]], [[Schlumberger]], and Stuller, Inc.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lafayette Parish Economic Profile|url=https://www.oneacadiana.org/lafayette-parish|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113033403/https://www.oneacadiana.org/lafayette-parish|archive-date=2021-11-13|access-date=2021-11-13|website=One Acadiana|language=en}}</ref> The [[University of Louisiana System]]'s other institutions and its Lafayette campus have contributed to a $10.9 billion impact on the state's economy.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-01-11|title=Report: UL System had $10B impact, added 149K jobs to state's economy|url=https://louisiana.edu/news-events/news/20190111/report-ul-system-had-10b-impact-added-149k-jobs-states-economy|access-date=2021-11-13|website=University of Louisiana at Lafayette|language=en}}</ref> As one of the primary employers in Lafayette, the local university has made a statewide impact of $379 million in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-07-26|title=$379 million: New report details UL Lafayette's impact on state economy|url=https://louisiana.edu/news-events/news/20170726/379-million-new-report-details-ul-lafayettes-impact-state-economy|access-date=2021-11-13|website=University of Louisiana at Lafayette|language=en}}</ref>

Prominent corporations with headquarters or a large presence in Lafayette have included or currently include [[Albertsons]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Albertsons Locations in Lafayette, LA {{!}} Pharmacy, Grocery, Weekly Ad|url=https://local.albertsons.com/la/lafayette.html|access-date=2021-02-22|website=local.albertsons.com|language=en}}</ref> [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]],<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11" /> [[Brookshire Grocery Company]],<ref name=":12" /> [[CGI Inc.|CGI]],<ref name=":13" /> [[First Horizon Bank]], [[JPMorgan Chase|JP Morgan Chase]], [[LUSFiber]], the [[Ochsner Health System]],<ref name=":15" /> [[Petroleum Helicopters International]],<ref name=":16" /> [[Perficient]], and [[Rouses|Rouses Markets]].<ref name=":17" /> Among these corporations, the [[Tennessee]]-based First Horizon Bank absorbed [[IberiaBank]] (a former Louisiana-based banking institution) in 2020.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web|date=July 6, 2020|title=First Horizon (FHN) & IBERIABANK Conclude Merger of Equals|url=https://www.yahoo.com/now/first-horizon-fhn-iberiabank-conclude-114611928.html|access-date=2021-10-10|website=Yahoo News|publisher=Zacks Equity Research|language=en-US}}</ref> Other notable corporations stimulating the city and metropolitan economies have been [[Lowe's]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Daigle|first=Adam|title=Lowe's to close 51 stores in North American, including one store in Louisiana|url=https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/business/article_b61eb1f0-e0fe-11e8-b068-43dbcecae452.html|access-date=2021-11-13|website=The Acadiana Advocate|date=5 November 2018 |publisher=The Advocate|language=en}}</ref> [[Costco]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lafayette Costco to open March 17|url=https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/money/business/2016/03/01/lafayette-costco-open-march-17/81151420/|access-date=2021-11-13|website=The Daily Advertiser|publisher=Gannett|language=en-US}}</ref> and various national retail and department stores in the [[Acadiana Mall|Mall of Acadiana]]. By December 2023, [[Topgolf]] opened a venue in Lafayette.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-15 |title=Topgolf Lafayette officially opens |url=https://www.kadn.com/news/local/topgolf-lafayette-officially-opens/article_516f955a-9b87-11ee-a11c-6bec86549b51.html |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=KADN News 15 |language=en}}</ref>

Ranking as one of the best places to retire in Louisiana according to ''Forbes'' in 2018,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Barrett|first=William|title=Best Places To Retire In Each State 2018|url=https://www.forbes.com/best-places-to-retire-in-each-state//|access-date=2021-11-13|website=Forbes|language=en}}</ref> Lafayette was also ranked one of the best places for businesses and careers in 2019; according to ''Forbes'', it was #25 in the cost of doing business, #200 in job growth, and #175 in education nationwide.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Best Places For Business and Careers|url=https://www.forbes.com/best-places-for-business/list/|access-date=2021-11-13|website=Forbes|language=en}}</ref> Per ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'', its cost of living has contributed to it being ranked as the second best place to live in Louisiana.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Living in Lafayette, Louisiana|url=https://realestate.usnews.com/places/louisiana/lafayette|access-date=2021-11-13|website=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref>