Gonzales is a city in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,156 at the 2000 census. It has been called the "jambalaya capital of the world" and is famous for its annual Jambalaya Festival. Gonzales is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. State Representative Eddie J. Lambert from Ascension Parish practices law in Gonzales. So does State Senator Jody Amedee, who represents Ascension, Livingston, St. James, and St. John the Baptist parishes. Johnny Berthelot, the mayor of Gonzales from 1985 to 2009, holds the other Ascension Parish seat in the state... House, District 88. Gonzales is located at 30°13′38″N 90°55′11″W / 30.22722°N 90.91972°W / 30.22722; -90.91972 . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.4 square miles , of which, 8.4 square miles of it is land and 0.1 square miles of it is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 8,156 people, 2,966 households, and 2,156 families residing in the city. The population density was 974.2 people per square mile . There were 3,332 housing units at an average density of 398.
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