Early French colonial documents show what would become Jefferson as part of the "Tchoupitoulas Coast" of Native American settlement.

In the French and Spanish colonial era it was divided into a series of plantations with boundary lines perpendicular to the Mississippi River.

In the American Civil War, Camp Parapet was built originally by Confederate forces to defend New Orleans from an attack from the upriver side.

After the Union liberated the city sailing up from downriver, U.S. troops expanded the fortifications to defend against Confederate counterattacks which never came.

[citation needed] The current four-lane Jefferson Highway was inaugurated in 1928, accelerating development as a suburban area within Greater New Orleans.

U.S. Route 90 (Jefferson Highway) runs through the center of the community, leading 6 miles (10 km) east to downtown New Orleans.

[citation needed] The northern boundary is separated from Metairie by the triple barriers of a drainage canal, railroad tracks, and the Earhart Expressway.

The 2019 American Community Survey estimated 10,501 people lived in the CDP, down from 11,193 at the 2010 United States census.

[10] From earlier census reports and estimates, 2019 and 2020 have revealed the continuous diversification of the United States overall, representing a stark rise against the non-Hispanic white population.