West Lafayette, Indiana. City and Business guide.

Welcome to West Lafayette, Indiana.

West Lafayette is a city in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, 65 miles (105km) northwest of Indianapolis. The population was 28,778 at the 2000 census. It is located across the Wabash River from Lafayette, Indiana and is home to Purdue University.

Photo by Dark Kendoka, December 2005
West Lafayette is the home of the main campus of Purdue University, with enrollment of 38,000 students.

The economy of West Lafayette is heavily influenced by the presence of Purdue University, with an enrollment of 38,000, more than the city's population. The university employs 12,000 people, most of whom live in either West Lafayette or Lafayette.

The 591-acre Purdue Research Park, established in 1961, is home to more than 140 high-tech companies with 2,500 employees and offers state-of-the-art communications infrastructure, world-class research facilities, a business incubation complex to help start-up firms and scenic walking trails and lakes. The Purdue Research Park is owned by Purdue Research Foundation, the university's funding and technology licensing arm.

Commercial activities, however, take place mostly across the river in Lafayette. The largest commercial area in West Lafayette is the 90-acre Levee area, which has become a thriving urban-type district since the the entire area was reconstructed and the Pedestrian Bridge to Lafayette replaced the old State Street bridge. The Levee features Wabash Landing which has shops, restaurants, coffee shops, a 9-screen movie theatre, the Hilton Garden hotel, and the Riverside Skating Center.

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