diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/entity.py b/sdk/python/feast/entity.py
index e1c6f601f2..832b9e4db8 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/entity.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/entity.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class Entity:
     def __init__(
         self,
         name: str,
-        value_type: ValueType,
+        value_type: ValueType = ValueType.UNKNOWN,
         description: str = "",
         join_key: Optional[str] = None,
         labels: Optional[MutableMapping[str, str]] = None,
diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/feature_store.py b/sdk/python/feast/feature_store.py
index 49b2afed74..8198246197 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/feature_store.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/feature_store.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 from feast.entity import Entity
 from feast.errors import FeastProviderLoginError, FeatureViewNotFoundException
 from feast.feature_view import FeatureView
+from feast.inference import infer_entity_value_type_from_feature_views
 from feast.infra.provider import Provider, RetrievalJob, get_provider
 from feast.online_response import OnlineResponse, _infer_online_entity_rows
 from feast.protos.feast.serving.ServingService_pb2 import (
@@ -219,19 +220,19 @@ def apply(
             objects = [objects]
         assert isinstance(objects, list)
 
-        views_to_update = []
-        entities_to_update = []
-        for ob in objects:
-            if isinstance(ob, FeatureView):
-                self._registry.apply_feature_view(ob, project=self.project)
-                views_to_update.append(ob)
-            elif isinstance(ob, Entity):
-                self._registry.apply_entity(ob, project=self.project)
-                entities_to_update.append(ob)
-            else:
-                raise ValueError(
-                    f"Unknown object type ({type(ob)}) provided as part of apply() call"
-                )
+        views_to_update = [ob for ob in objects if isinstance(ob, FeatureView)]
+        entities_to_update = infer_entity_value_type_from_feature_views(
+            [ob for ob in objects if isinstance(ob, Entity)], views_to_update
+        )
+
+        if len(views_to_update) + len(entities_to_update) != len(objects):
+            raise ValueError("Unknown object type provided as part of apply() call")
+
+        for view in views_to_update:
+            self._registry.apply_feature_view(view, project=self.project)
+        for ent in entities_to_update:
+            self._registry.apply_entity(ent, project=self.project)
+
         self._get_provider().update_infra(
             project=self.project,
             tables_to_delete=[],
diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/inference.py b/sdk/python/feast/inference.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..54105a9bc2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/inference.py
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+from typing import List
+
+from feast import Entity
+from feast.feature_view import FeatureView
+from feast.value_type import ValueType
+
+
+def infer_entity_value_type_from_feature_views(
+    entities: List[Entity], feature_views: List[FeatureView]
+) -> List[Entity]:
+    """
+    Infer entity value type by examining schema of feature view input sources
+    """
+    incomplete_entities = {
+        entity.name: entity
+        for entity in entities
+        if entity.value_type == ValueType.UNKNOWN
+    }
+    incomplete_entities_keys = incomplete_entities.keys()
+
+    for view in feature_views:
+        if not (incomplete_entities_keys & set(view.entities)):
+            continue  # skip if view doesn't contain any entities that need inference
+
+        col_names_and_types = view.input.get_table_column_names_and_types()
+        for entity_name in view.entities:
+            if entity_name in incomplete_entities:
+                # get entity information from information extracted from the view input source
+                extracted_entity_name_type_pairs = list(
+                    filter(lambda tup: tup[0] == entity_name, col_names_and_types)
+                )
+                if len(extracted_entity_name_type_pairs) == 0:
+                    # Doesn't mention inference error because would also be an error without inferencing
+                    raise ValueError(
+                        f"""No column in the input source for the {view.name} feature view matches
+                        its entity's name."""
+                    )
+
+                entity = incomplete_entities[entity_name]
+                inferred_value_type = view.input.source_datatype_to_feast_value_type()(
+                    extracted_entity_name_type_pairs[0][1]
+                )
+
+                if (
+                    entity.value_type != ValueType.UNKNOWN
+                    and entity.value_type != inferred_value_type
+                ) or (len(extracted_entity_name_type_pairs) > 1):
+                    raise ValueError(
+                        f"""Entity value_type inference failed for {entity_name} entity.
+                        Multiple viable matches. Please explicitly specify the entity value_type
+                        for this entity."""
+                    )
+
+                entity.value_type = inferred_value_type
+
+    return entities
diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/repo_operations.py b/sdk/python/feast/repo_operations.py
index d49aaaca89..a16a789f5f 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/repo_operations.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/repo_operations.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 
 from feast import Entity, FeatureTable
 from feast.feature_view import FeatureView
+from feast.inference import infer_entity_value_type_from_feature_views
 from feast.infra.offline_stores.helpers import assert_offline_store_supports_data_source
 from feast.infra.provider import get_provider
 from feast.names import adjectives, animals
@@ -129,6 +130,13 @@ def apply_total(repo_config: RepoConfig, repo_path: Path):
     registry._initialize_registry()
     sys.dont_write_bytecode = True
     repo = parse_repo(repo_path)
+    repo = ParsedRepo(
+        feature_tables=repo.feature_tables,
+        entities=infer_entity_value_type_from_feature_views(
+            repo.entities, repo.feature_views
+        ),
+        feature_views=repo.feature_views,
+    )
     sys.dont_write_bytecode = False
     for entity in repo.entities:
         registry.apply_entity(entity, project=project)
diff --git a/sdk/python/tests/conftest.py b/sdk/python/tests/conftest.py
index 1c038a9b78..0c94f4d57a 100644
--- a/sdk/python/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/sdk/python/tests/conftest.py
@@ -12,8 +12,10 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 import multiprocessing
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta
 from sys import platform
 
+import pandas as pd
 import pytest
 
 
@@ -45,3 +47,43 @@ def pytest_collection_modifyitems(config, items):
     for item in items:
         if "integration" in item.keywords:
             item.add_marker(skip_integration)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def simple_dataset_1() -> pd.DataFrame:
+    now = datetime.utcnow()
+    ts = pd.Timestamp(now).round("ms")
+    data = {
+        "id": [1, 2, 1, 3, 3],
+        "float_col": [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 4, 5],
+        "int64_col": [1, 2, 3, 4, 5],
+        "string_col": ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"],
+        "ts_1": [
+            ts,
+            ts - timedelta(hours=4),
+            ts - timedelta(hours=3),
+            ts - timedelta(hours=2),
+            ts - timedelta(hours=1),
+        ],
+    }
+    return pd.DataFrame.from_dict(data)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def simple_dataset_2() -> pd.DataFrame:
+    now = datetime.utcnow()
+    ts = pd.Timestamp(now).round("ms")
+    data = {
+        "id": ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"],
+        "float_col": [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 4, 5],
+        "int64_col": [1, 2, 3, 4, 5],
+        "string_col": ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"],
+        "ts_1": [
+            ts,
+            ts - timedelta(hours=4),
+            ts - timedelta(hours=3),
+            ts - timedelta(hours=2),
+            ts - timedelta(hours=1),
+        ],
+    }
+    return pd.DataFrame.from_dict(data)
diff --git a/sdk/python/tests/example_feature_repo_with_inference.py b/sdk/python/tests/example_feature_repo_with_inference.py
index e0ccab5015..a427f0cea4 100644
--- a/sdk/python/tests/example_feature_repo_with_inference.py
+++ b/sdk/python/tests/example_feature_repo_with_inference.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 from google.protobuf.duration_pb2 import Duration
 
-from feast import Entity, FeatureView, ValueType
+from feast import Entity, FeatureView
 from feast.data_source import FileSource
 
 driver_hourly_stats = FileSource(
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     created_timestamp_column="created",
 )
 
-driver = Entity(name="driver_id", value_type=ValueType.INT64, description="driver id",)
+driver = Entity(name="driver_id", description="driver id",)
 
 # features are inferred from columns of data source
 driver_hourly_stats_view = FeatureView(
diff --git a/sdk/python/tests/test_feature_store.py b/sdk/python/tests/test_feature_store.py
index 7486fc4ec9..7b5363e636 100644
--- a/sdk/python/tests/test_feature_store.py
+++ b/sdk/python/tests/test_feature_store.py
@@ -16,13 +16,12 @@
 from tempfile import mkstemp
 
 import pytest
-from fixtures.data_source_fixtures import simple_dataset_1  # noqa: F401
-from fixtures.data_source_fixtures import (
+from pytest_lazyfixture import lazy_fixture
+from utils.data_source_utils import (
     prep_file_source,
     simple_bq_source_using_query_arg,
     simple_bq_source_using_table_ref_arg,
 )
-from pytest_lazyfixture import lazy_fixture
 
 from feast.data_format import ParquetFormat
 from feast.data_source import FileSource
@@ -315,22 +314,6 @@ def test_apply_feature_view_integration(test_feature_store):
     assert len(feature_views) == 0
 
 
-@pytest.mark.integration
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("dataframe_source", [lazy_fixture("simple_dataset_1")])
-def test_data_source_ts_col_inference_success(dataframe_source):
-    with prep_file_source(df=dataframe_source) as file_source:
-        actual_file_source = file_source.event_timestamp_column
-        actual_bq_1 = simple_bq_source_using_table_ref_arg(
-            dataframe_source
-        ).event_timestamp_column
-        actual_bq_2 = simple_bq_source_using_query_arg(
-            dataframe_source
-        ).event_timestamp_column
-        expected = "ts_1"
-
-        assert expected == actual_file_source == actual_bq_1 == actual_bq_2
-
-
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "test_feature_store", [lazy_fixture("feature_store_with_local_registry")],
 )
diff --git a/sdk/python/tests/test_inference.py b/sdk/python/tests/test_inference.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..886aca8ab2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sdk/python/tests/test_inference.py
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+import pytest
+from utils.data_source_utils import (
+    prep_file_source,
+    simple_bq_source_using_query_arg,
+    simple_bq_source_using_table_ref_arg,
+)
+
+from feast import Entity, ValueType
+from feast.feature_view import FeatureView
+from feast.inference import infer_entity_value_type_from_feature_views
+
+
+@pytest.mark.integration
+def test_data_source_ts_col_inference_success(simple_dataset_1):
+    with prep_file_source(df=simple_dataset_1) as file_source:
+        actual_file_source = file_source.event_timestamp_column
+        actual_bq_1 = simple_bq_source_using_table_ref_arg(
+            simple_dataset_1
+        ).event_timestamp_column
+        actual_bq_2 = simple_bq_source_using_query_arg(
+            simple_dataset_1
+        ).event_timestamp_column
+        expected = "ts_1"
+
+        assert expected == actual_file_source == actual_bq_1 == actual_bq_2
+
+
+def test_infer_entity_value_type_from_feature_views(simple_dataset_1, simple_dataset_2):
+    with prep_file_source(
+        df=simple_dataset_1, event_timestamp_column="ts_1"
+    ) as file_source, prep_file_source(
+        df=simple_dataset_2, event_timestamp_column="ts_1"
+    ) as file_source_2:
+
+        fv1 = FeatureView(name="fv1", entities=["id"], input=file_source, ttl=None,)
+        fv2 = FeatureView(name="fv2", entities=["id"], input=file_source_2, ttl=None,)
+
+        actual_1 = infer_entity_value_type_from_feature_views(
+            [Entity(name="id")], [fv1]
+        )
+        actual_2 = infer_entity_value_type_from_feature_views(
+            [Entity(name="id")], [fv2]
+        )
+        assert actual_1 == [Entity(name="id", value_type=ValueType.INT64)]
+        assert actual_2 == [Entity(name="id", value_type=ValueType.STRING)]
+
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+            # two viable data types
+            infer_entity_value_type_from_feature_views([Entity(name="id")], [fv1, fv2])
diff --git a/sdk/python/tests/fixtures/data_source_fixtures.py b/sdk/python/tests/utils/data_source_utils.py
similarity index 74%
rename from sdk/python/tests/fixtures/data_source_fixtures.py
rename to sdk/python/tests/utils/data_source_utils.py
index 587457b49b..0aec0c6f1a 100644
--- a/sdk/python/tests/fixtures/data_source_fixtures.py
+++ b/sdk/python/tests/utils/data_source_utils.py
@@ -1,35 +1,12 @@
 import contextlib
 import tempfile
-from datetime import datetime, timedelta
 
-import pandas as pd
-import pytest
 from google.cloud import bigquery
 
 from feast.data_format import ParquetFormat
 from feast.data_source import BigQuerySource, FileSource
 
 
-@pytest.fixture
-def simple_dataset_1() -> pd.DataFrame:
-    now = datetime.utcnow()
-    ts = pd.Timestamp(now).round("ms")
-    data = {
-        "id": [1, 2, 1, 3, 3],
-        "float_col": [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 4, 5],
-        "int64_col": [1, 2, 3, 4, 5],
-        "string_col": ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"],
-        "ts_1": [
-            ts,
-            ts - timedelta(hours=4),
-            ts - timedelta(hours=3),
-            ts - timedelta(hours=2),
-            ts - timedelta(hours=1),
-        ],
-    }
-    return pd.DataFrame.from_dict(data)
-
-
 @contextlib.contextmanager
 def prep_file_source(df, event_timestamp_column="") -> FileSource:
     with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(suffix=".parquet") as f: