Central Louisiana (Cenla), also known as the Crossroads region, is the part of Louisiana that includes the following parishes: Allen, Beauregard, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, La Salle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine, and Vernon.

Central is the thirteenth-largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the second largest city in East Baton Rouge Parish. Central became the state's newest city in April 2005. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of Central was 26,864 as of the 2010 census.