Metairie is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. Adjacent to New Orleans, Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were incorporated. The zip codes that serve the community are 70001-70006. The original spelling, Métairie, is the French language term for a tenant farm which paid the landlord with a share of the produce, as this was the main activity of the area from the 1760s to the 1930s.