Cut Off had its start by the building of a canal cutoff at that point from Bayou Lafourche northeast to Lake Salvador, to shorten the route to New Orleans. The name was French in origin.
Geography
Cut Off is located in south-central Lafourche Parish at , on both sides of Bayou Lafourche. It is bordered to the northwest by Larose and to the south by Galliano. Louisiana Highway 1 runs through the center of Cut Off, along the west bank of Bayou Lafourche, while Highway 308 runs along the east bank. Highway 3235, a four-lane highway, runs through the west side of the community. All three highways lead northwest into Larose and south into Galliano. Thibodaux, the parish seat, is to the northwest, and Port Fourchon on the Gulf of Mexico is to the south. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Cut Off CDP has a total area of, of which are land and, or 0.85%, are water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,635 people, 2,033 households, and 1,608 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 381.7 people per square mile. There were 2,136 housing units at an average density of 144.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.41% White, 1.12% African American, 3.78% Native American, 1.26% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.10% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.13% of the population. There were 2,033 households out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.0% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.9% were non-families. 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.12. In the CDP, the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $38,077, and the median income for a family was $42,986. Males had a median income of $35,994 versus $19,225 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $16,353. About 7.3% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.
A particular section of the town is known as Côte Blanche, French for "White Coast" because of a statistically abnormal number of white painted homes that lined Bayou Lafourche for much of the early and mid 1900s.
In a segment of Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe interviewed a Cut Off alligator farmer.
Larose-Cut Off Middle School is in nearby Larose, and serves Cut Off CDP. South Lafourche High School is in Galliano, and has a Cut Off postal address. It also serves Cut Off. Cut Off School opened in 1927. In September 1950 the schools of Larose and Cut Off were consolidated into Larose-Cut Off High School. It was then consolidated with Golden Meadow High School to form South Lafourche High School in 1966. Lafourche Parish Library operates the South Lafourche Library in Galliano, which has a Cut Off postal address.
