Welcome to Lafayette ...

The city of Lafayette is located in Macon County<1> and is the County Seat for Macon County.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Lafayette, you might consider that their post office opened in 1842.

When the people of Lafayette refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Lafayettean<2>

From the Census Estimates for 2019, Lafayette has a population of 5,331 people<3> (see below for details).

Lafayette is 960 feet [293 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Lafayette lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Note: If you leave Lafayette and travel east, you will leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).

Area Codes for Lafayette: 615 & 629<5>

The ZIP code for Lafayette: 37083<6>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Lafayette had an population of 5,331 people. This is an increase of 19.16% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 37.22% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Lafayette had a population of 4,474 people (which is 20.12% of the total population of Macon County). This makes Lafayette the county's most populous community.

The population of Lafayette represents 0.07% of the total population of Tennessee (which has 6,346,105 people), making it the state's 106th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 4,474 people, the population of Lafayette increased 15.16% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 3,885 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Lafayette.

Communities Also Named Lafayette ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two Tennessee communities named Lafayette: This one is located in Macon County and the other is located in Putnam County.

Beyond Tennessee, there are 38 communities that are also named Lafayette - they are located in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa (2), Kansas (2), Kentucky, Louisiana (2), Maryland, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio (5), Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania (2), Rhode Island, Texas (2), Virginia (2) and West Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Lafayette.

Communities near Lafayette ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Lafayette.

Difficult
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Difficult
- Difficult is located in Smith County
- Estimated population in 2014: 14,993 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Difficult
- From Lafayette to Difficult
Hartsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
- Hartsville is located in Trousdale County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,455 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartsville <7>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Hartsville
- From Lafayette to Hartsville
Scottsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsville
- Scottsville is located in Allen County (KY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,548 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scottsville <7>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Scottsville
- From Lafayette to Scottsville
Centerville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Wilson County
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,595 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Centerville
- From Lafayette to Centerville
Westmoreland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmoreland
- Westmoreland is located in Sumner County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,429 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westmoreland <7>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Westmoreland
- From Lafayette to Westmoreland
Carthage
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
- Carthage is located in Smith County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,331 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carthage <7>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Carthage
- From Lafayette to Carthage
South Carthage
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Carthage have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Carthage
- South Carthage is located in Smith County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,406 people
Red Boiling Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Boiling Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Boiling Springs
- Red Boiling Springs is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,124 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Boiling Springs <7>
Castalian Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castalian Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castalian Springs
- Castalian Springs is located in Sumner County
- Population from the 2010 Census: 556 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Castalian Springs <7>
Gamaliel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gamaliel
- Gamaliel is located in Monroe County (KY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 355 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gamaliel <7>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Gamaliel
- From Lafayette to Gamaliel

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Lafayette. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Lafayette.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Lafayette. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lafayette.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Lafayette. Our list includes 5 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Lafayette.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Lafayette ...

Looking for more information about Lafayette? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Lafayette, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Lafayette.

Adding Lafayette to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Lafayette in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Lafayette was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>

From that list, the Lafayette post office opened in 1842.

We also found Lafayette on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Tennessee (1888).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Lafayette.

Footnotes ...

<1>	If you're interested in how the shape of Tennessee's counties, including Macon, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>	A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Lafayette refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Lafayette may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>	Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Lafayette.
<4>	The elevation is an estimate for the area around Lafayette - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>	When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 615 code has been Overlayed with the 629 area code. New phone numbers in the Lafayette area will be assigned with one of these codes: 615 or 629. As a result, placing a call in the Lafayette area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>	ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Lafayette). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Lafayette or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<7>	While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<8>	The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<9>	A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/