Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of and the largest city in 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 which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes. Its neighboring city is Pineville. As of the 2020 census, Alexandria had a population of 45,275.