Alexandria is a
city in and the
parish seat of
Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the
Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the
Alexandria metropolitan area (population 153,922) which encompasses all of Rapides and
Grant parishes. Its neighboring city is
Pineville. In 2010, the population was 47,723, an increase of 3 percent from the 2000 census.