| Official Name: | Lafayette |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Minnesota |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Nicollet |
| Government Type: | Mayor - Council |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Darren Saffert |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 3.26 |
| Area Land Km2: | 3.26 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.00 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 1.26 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 1.26 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.00 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 492 |
| Population Density Km2: | 151.05 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 391.10 |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Elevation Ft: | 1020 |
| Coordinates: | 44.4472°N -94.3928°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 56054 |
| Area Code: | 507 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 27-33920[2] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 2395584 |
Lafayette is a city in Nicollet County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 492 at the 2020 census.[3] It is a farming community just outside the larger town of New Ulm.
Lafayette is part of the Mankato-North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Lafayette was platted in 1897, and named for Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834), a French and American Revolutionary War general.[4]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.15sqmi, all land.[5] The South Branch Rush River starts near Lafayette.
Minnesota State Highway 15 serves as a main route in the community.
As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $36,719, and the median income for a family was $43,611. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $21,563 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,347. About 3.1% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 95 or over.
As of the census[6] of 2010, there were 504 people, 218 households, and 131 families residing in the city. The population density was 438.3PD/sqmi. There were 244 housing units at an average density of 212.2/sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 97.8% White, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.4% of the population.
There were 218 households, of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 4.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.9% were non-families. 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.95.
The median age in the city was 36.9 years. 27% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.6% were from 25 to 44; 26.3% were from 45 to 64; and 14.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.
Lafayette was the childhood home of actress Tippi Hedren. In her book Cats of Shambala, she wrote that she was born in New Ulm as Lafayette did not have a hospital.