Doing business in Pecan Island, Louisiana

A community of roughly 300 people on a shell ridge in the Vermilion Parish marsh is now the site of a $100 billion SpaceX spaceport. The rules, the rates, the numbers to call, and the economy as it actually stands.

Checked 26 August 2026

On 25 August 2026, SpaceX and the State of Louisiana announced Starbase Louisiana here: roughly 125,000 acres of former Exxon land, described by the state as the largest capital investment in Louisiana history. Construction from 2027, first launch targeted 2029.

Pecan Island has no town government, no city sales tax and no municipal license, which makes it unusually simple to open a business here. It is also 45 minutes from the nearest bank, sits about seven feet above sea level, and was flattened by a storm surge in 2005. Both halves matter.

The snapshot

• Parish. Vermilion.
• Status. Unincorporated. There is no town government.
• Population. About 300.
• Sales tax. 8.75 percent, the unincorporated Vermilion Parish rate.
• Municipal occupational license. None, because there is no municipality.
• Access. Louisiana Highway 82.
• Elevation. About seven feet.

Where to start

Because Pecan Island is unincorporated, the licensing path is shorter than in Abbeville or Kaplan. You still need the state layer:

1. Register the company with the Louisiana Secretary of State.
2. Get an EIN from the IRS.
3. Register for sales tax with the Louisiana Department of Revenue and with the Vermilion Parish sales tax office on 337-898-5732.
4. Get the state trade license your work requires. The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors licenses above the statutory thresholds, and the classification has to match the work.

There is no municipal occupational license to add on top. That is the whole difference, and it is a real one.

Practical realities

The things a spreadsheet will not tell you and a site visit will.

• One road in. Highway 82 is the access, and it is the same road every heavy delivery will use.
• No rooms. There is effectively no lodging, which is why camp, catering and housing appear early in any large build here rather than late.
• Water and power are rural. Vermilion Parish Waterworks District No. 1 is on 337-898-8345.
• Storm exposure is not theoretical. Seven feet of elevation on the Chenier Plain, and a community that was destroyed by storm surge in 2005.

Who to call

• Vermilion Parish Police Jury, 337-898-4300.
• Vermilion Parish sales tax office, 337-898-5732.
• Vermilion Economic Development Alliance, 337-740-0433.

If you are here for the spaceport

The supplier registry is free to be listed in, and the estimated development timeline sets out which trades get bought in which phase.