Louisiana › Vermilion Parish
Doing business in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana
A coastal Acadiana parish of about 58,000 people, running on health care, retail, oil and gas, agriculture and fishing, and now the site of the largest capital investment in Louisiana history. The rules, the rates, the towns and the numbers to call.
Verified 27 August 2026 · Vermilion Parish, Louisiana
Starbase Louisiana is coming to this parish
SpaceX and the State of Louisiana confirmed a $100 billion spaceport at Pecan Island, in the south of Vermilion Parish. 3,000 direct jobs and an estimated 8,100 indirect roles for contractors and vendors. The complete Pecan Island guide.
Vermilion Parish is where the Acadiana prairie runs out into the Chenier Plain marsh. Rice, crawfish and cattle in the north, fishing and oil service along the coast, and a string of small towns down Highway 14 and Highway 82.
What follows is the practical layer for anyone trading here: which authority governs what, what you charge in tax and where you remit it, and where the work is.
The snapshot
| Parish seat | Abbeville, population 11,186 at the 2020 census |
|---|---|
| Parish population | 57,359 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 projection of roughly 58,105 |
| Region | Acadiana, on the Gulf coast, south and west of Lafayette |
| Parish government | Vermilion Parish Police Jury, Abbeville, 337-898-4300 |
| Sales tax, unincorporated | 8.75 percent, being 5.00 percent state and 3.75 percent parish |
| Sales tax, maximum | 11.25 percent in the highest jurisdiction in the parish |
| Local tax collector | Vermilion Parish sales tax office, 337-898-5732 |
| Economic development | Vermilion Economic Development Alliance, Abbeville, 337-740-0433 |
| Rural water | Vermilion Parish Waterworks District No. 1, 337-898-8345 |
Towns and communities
Where you operate inside the parish changes both your tax rate and whether you need a municipal license at all.
| Abbeville | Parish seat and largest town. Parish offices, banks and most suppliers. Municipal occupational license applies. Designated a Louisiana Development Ready Community, with a Qualified Opportunity Zone covering much of downtown |
|---|---|
| Kaplan | Incorporated town in the west of the parish. Municipal license applies |
| Erath | Incorporated town south east of Abbeville. Municipal license applies |
| Delcambre | Incorporated town on the Iberia Parish line, with a working shrimp fleet |
| Gueydan | Incorporated town in the north west, known for waterfowl |
| Maurice | Incorporated town on the Lafayette side, population 2,118 at the 2020 census |
| Pecan Island | Unincorporated coastal community. No municipal license, no city sales tax. Site of the announced SpaceX spaceport |
| Other communities | Perry, Forked Island, Intracoastal City and other unincorporated places, which follow parish rather than municipal rules |
Sales tax across the parish
Louisiana collects local sales tax locally, and Vermilion Parish is split across seven taxing jurisdictions. The practical consequences are the same three every time:
- The rate follows the job, not your office. Work performed in unincorporated Vermilion is taxed at the parish rate. Work performed inside Abbeville is taxed at the Abbeville rate. A Lafayette firm working here charges Vermilion rates.
- You register twice. The state portion with the Louisiana Department of Revenue, the parish portion with the Vermilion Parish sales tax office. Registering with the state does not register you locally.
- Verify the exact address. Rates within one parish can differ by several points. The collector on 337-898-5732 will confirm.
Charging a single rate across parish and town lines is one of the most frequent errors Louisiana contractors make. If you work across jurisdictions, the rate changes with the site address, not with your invoicing software’s default.
What the parish runs on
By employment, the largest sectors in Vermilion Parish are health care and social assistance at roughly 3,981 people, retail trade at roughly 3,435, and mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction at roughly 2,594. Agriculture, commercial fishing and coastal work carry weight beyond their headcount, particularly in the south of the parish.
Those sector figures count Vermilion residents by industry, which includes the many who commute to Lafayette. Counted the other way, by jobs physically located in the parish, the federal wage census for 2024 puts retail trade first at 1,940, accommodation and food service second at 1,078 and construction third at 824, across 1,348 businesses in total. Both are correct. They answer different questions, and the second is the one that matters if you are deciding where to open.
That mix is about to gain a category it has never had. The announced SpaceX project at Pecan Island brings aerospace construction from 2027, with 3,000 direct jobs at an average salary of $92,600 and an estimated 8,100 indirect roles for contractors and vendors. For a parish whose average wage the state puts well below that figure, it is a significant shift, and the practical question for most local businesses is the indirect number rather than the direct one.
How Vermilion Parish compares
Every parish this one touches, side by side. Sales tax is the range across all the taxing jurisdictions inside the parish, lowest to highest. The license column is whether the parish levies an occupational license tax outside the towns, which is a separate annual tax from sales tax. Business, job and wage figures are jobs located in the parish, from the federal quarterly census of employment and wages for 2024.
| Parish | Sales tax | Occ. license outside town | Businesses | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Jobs, year on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermilion | 8.75% to 11.25% | Yes | 1,348 | 12,560 | $927 | +1.7% |
| Acadia | 9.25% to 11.25% | Yes | 1,460 | 14,380 | $867 | +0.0% |
| Cameron | not published | not listed by town | 158 | 4,009 | $2,237 | -4.3% |
| Iberia | 9.25% to 11.25% | Yes | 1,897 | 24,074 | $1,102 | +1.7% |
| Jefferson Davis | 10.50% to 12.50% | Yes | 800 | 8,020 | $849 | +2.3% |
| Lafayette | 9.00% to 11.25% | None levied | 11,990 | 137,173 | $1,118 | +1.8% |
| Louisiana median parish | 9.25% | 40 of 64 levy it | 857 | 10,427 | $963 | +0.9% |
Three things stand out. Vermilion charges 8.75 percent outside its towns, below the Louisiana median of 9.25 percent and lower than every neighbour that publishes a rate. Lafayette Parish levies no occupational license tax at all, neither the parish nor the city, while Vermilion does. And Cameron’s $2,237 average weekly wage is not a local labor market, it is the LNG terminals, earned across 158 businesses, and Cameron is the only neighbour that lost jobs last year.
The figure that matters most to a Vermilion business is Lafayette’s 11,990 businesses and 137,173 jobs, roughly nine times this parish’s own. That is where the customers are. It is also why the job site rule bites here: work performed in Lafayette is taxed at Lafayette’s rate, whatever your Abbeville address says.
One warning before you use this to choose. Louisiana sales tax follows the job site, not your office. Registering in the cheaper parish does not let you charge its rate on work performed in the dearer one. The comparison is useful for where you locate, hire and file. It is not a way to charge less.
Ask Miles to compare two parishes for your situation
Guides
Pecan Island and Starbase Louisiana
The $100 billion SpaceX spaceport, the 8,100 indirect jobs, and the complete guide to operating in the community it lands on.
02Rules, tax and fees
Who governs what across the parish, the sales tax rates by jurisdiction, and every Secretary of State fee including the 1 October rise.
03Contracting and supplier work
How a Vermilion Parish business qualifies for large project work. SAM.gov, Hudson Initiative, capability statements.
04Start a business
The full filing sequence for a new Louisiana business: entity, EIN, sales tax, licensing and insurance, with costs.
Who to call
| Vermilion Economic Development Alliance | 337-740-0433, info@developvermilion.org. Business retention and expansion for the parish |
|---|---|
| Vermilion Parish sales tax office | 337-898-5732. Registers and collects the parish portion of sales tax |
| Vermilion Parish Police Jury | 337-898-4300. Parish government, Abbeville |
| Vermilion Parish Waterworks District No. 1 | 337-898-8345. Water service for the rural parish |
| Vermilion Chamber of Commerce | Listed in Louisiana Economic Development’s own resource directory |
| One Acadiana | Regional economic development body covering the parish |
| Louisiana SBDC, Acadiana | Free business counselling, including contracting readiness |
| Louisiana Secretary of State | Commercial Division, 225-925-4704. Entity filings through geauxBIZ |
Bizer is an independent company. It is not a government agency and is not affiliated with any of the bodies above. Where a free public advisor is the right answer, that is the honest recommendation.
Common questions
What is the sales tax rate in Vermilion Parish?
In unincorporated Vermilion Parish the combined rate is 8.75 percent, being 5.00 percent state and 3.75 percent parish. Incorporated towns add their own, and the maximum rate anywhere in the parish reaches 11.25 percent. Rates are set by seven separate taxing jurisdictions, so the rate follows the address where the work is performed.
Who collects local sales tax in Vermilion Parish?
The parish portion is collected locally by the Vermilion Parish sales tax office on 337-898-5732, not by the state. The state portion goes to the Louisiana Department of Revenue. Registering with one does not register you with the other.
Do I need an occupational license in Vermilion Parish?
It depends where you operate. Incorporated towns such as Abbeville and Kaplan require a municipal occupational license. Unincorporated areas of the parish, including Pecan Island, do not. State level trade licensing applies everywhere.
What is the population of Vermilion Parish?
57,359 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 projection of roughly 58,105. Abbeville, the parish seat, had 11,186 residents at the 2020 census.
What industries does Vermilion Parish run on?
By employment, the largest sectors are health care and social assistance, retail trade, and mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction. Agriculture, fishing and coastal work are also significant, and the announced SpaceX project at Pecan Island would add aerospace construction from 2027.
Where is the SpaceX site in Vermilion Parish?
At Pecan Island, on roughly 125,000 acres of former Exxon land in the south of the parish, about 50 miles south-southwest of Lafayette. Construction is slated for 2027 and a first Starship launch is targeted for 2029.
Sources and dates
- Population and employment figures: US Census Bureau QuickFacts for Vermilion Parish and Data USA. Checked 26 August 2026.
- Sales tax rates and jurisdiction count: Louisiana Uniform Local Sales Tax Board, the Louisiana Association of Tax Administrators parish index, and the parish collector. Checked 26 August 2026.
- SpaceX figures: Louisiana Economic Development, “SpaceX Launches New Era of Commercial Spaceflight with $100 Billion Louisiana Campus”. Checked 26 August 2026.
- Business counts, jobs and wages, and the neighbour comparison: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages, by parish. Neighbouring parishes from the US Census Bureau county adjacency file.
- Occupational license collectors: Louisiana Association of Tax Administrators occupational license directory. The fee schedules themselves are set in state law at R.S. 47:354 to 47:357 and are the same statewide.
- Abbeville Development Ready Community designation and Opportunity Zone: Louisiana Economic Development and the City of Abbeville.
Rates and figures change. Before you file or charge tax, confirm with the office named above.
Ask Miles about doing business in Vermilion Parish
Tax rates, licensing, contracting readiness, or whether an idea holds up. Free to talk, any hour.
Free, no account needed. Answered by Miles, Bizer’s Louisiana business AI agent.