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Indiana
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Two Great Cities, One Great University
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US-IN-West Lafayettepng
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280
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1888
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Tippecanoe County
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Jan Mills
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143 km&2 ( 55 mi&2)
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018%
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2000
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28,778
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182,821
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1,9623/km&2
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EST
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-5
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402631
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-865445
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wwwcitywest-lafayetteinus/
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is a city located in
Tippecanoe County, Indiana . As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 28,778. It is located across the
Wabash River from
Lafayette, Indiana and is home to
Purdue University .
The original "West Lafayette" was laid out by Augustus Wylie in 1836 and located in the
Wabash River floodplain south of the present Levee. Due to regular flooding of the site, Wylie's town was never built. The present city was formed in
1888 by the merger of the adjacent suburban towns of Chauncey, Oakwood, and Kingston, located on a bluff across the
Wabash River from
Lafayette, Indiana . The three towns had been small suburban villages which were directly adjacent to one another. Kingston was laid out in
1855 by Jesse B. Lutz. Chauncey was platted in
1860 by the Chauncey family of Philadelphia, wealthy land speculators. Chauncey and Kingston formed a municipal government in 1866 which selected the name “Chauncey.” The new town of Chauncey remained a small suburban village until
Purdue University opened in the mid-1870s. In 1871 Chauncey voted to be annexed by Lafayette because it was unable to provide the infrastructure (improved streets, waterworks, police and fire protection). Lafayette voted against annexing Chauncey because of the high cost the many improvements that the village lacked. By the time of West Lafayette’s formation in 1888, the growth of the university was fueling the growth of the little town. The address of
Purdue University was given as "Lafayette, Indiana" until well into the twentieth century. West Lafayette never gained a railroad depot and lagged several years behind Lafayette in the establishment of municipal infrastructure and services. However, by the 1940s, West Lafayette had emerged as an independent suburban city.
West Lafayette is located at 40°26'31" North, 86°54'45" West (40.441935, -86.912409).
According to the
United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 14.3
Km&2 (5.5
Mi&2 ). 14.3 km&
2 (5.5 mi&
2) of it is land and 0.18% is water.
West Lafayette is the home of the main campus of
Purdue University .
The
West Lafayette Community School Corporation is the main public school district for the city. The district consists of three schools. Students in grades K-3 attend Cumberland Elementary school, while students in grades 4-6 attend Happy Hollow Elementary School. Students 7th grade and up are located in the West Lafayette Jr./Sr. High School.
As of the
Census of 2000, there were 28,778 people, 10,462 households, and 3,588 families residing in the city. The
Population Density was 2,016.6/km&
2 (5,219.6/mi&
2). There were 10,819 housing units at an average density of 758.1/km&
2 (1,962.3/mi&
2). The racial makeup of the city was 83.34%
White , 2.38%
African American , 0.16%
Native American , 11.34%
Asian , 0.03%
Pacific Islander , 1.17% from
Other Races , and 1.58% from two or more races. 3.20% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 10,462 households out of which 14.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.6% were
Married Couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 65.7% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.89.
The age distribution is spread out with 10.4% under the age of 18, 54.6% from 18 to 24, 16.9% from 25 to 44, 10.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. This age distribution reflects the high percentage of Purdue University students living in the town. For every 100 females there are 133.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 137.2 males. The unusual sex distribution can also be explained by Purdue's presence; the school has large programs in several male-dominated academic fields such as engineering.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,869, and the median income for a family was $71,510. Males had a median income of $46,787 versus $30,218 for females. The
Per Capita Income for the city was $18,337. 38.3% of the population and 9.5% of families were below the
Poverty Line . 9.5% of those under the age of 18 and 3.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. However, traditional measures of poverty can be highly misleading when applied to communities with a large proportion of students, such as West Lafayette.
