The New Orleans skyline and the Caesars Superdome, the site of the NFL Super Bowl LIX, shot from a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office helicopter by Caitlyn Reisgen, Thursday Feb. 6, 2025.
The New Orleans skyline and the Caesars Superdome, the site of the NFL Super Bowl LIX, shot from a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office helicopter by Caitlyn Reisgen, Thursday Feb. 6, 2025.
Nearly two-thirds of Louisiana parishes saw their populations dwindle last year, including several that were among the fastest-shrinking large counties in the country, according to new census estimates released Thursday.
The new figures show that despite a slight uptick in the state’s population, which the Census Bureau attributed to international immigration, parishes across the state are still struggling to keep their residents from leaving for other parts of the country.
Among the most notable declines was New Orleans, which saw its population slide by almost 2,470 people last year and nearly 20,700 people since 2020. About 28,400 people have left the city for other parts of the country, an exodus that has only partially been offset by immigration.
That leaves the city with about 362,700 residents, a smaller population than it had in 2012. The city’s population is now about 73% of what it was in 2005, before the levee failures during Hurricane Katrina flooded the city.
The population loss in Orleans Parish amounted to a decline of about 0.68%, making it the fifth fastest-shrinking county with more than 100,000 residents in the country. Just ahead of it was Caddo Parish, which lost about 1,570 people last year.
The declines are further causes for concern for parishes across the state, which have seen their populations wither in recent years, as devastating hurricanes and insurance increases have ravaged the state.
But in the end, the main thing that drives people to move to or from any area is whether there are enough well-paying jobs to support them, said Allison Plyer, the chief demographer for The Data Center, a research nonprofit in New Orleans.
“Ultimately people can’t stay if they can’t find jobs,” Plyer said. “I think everyone has an anecdote of someone who wanted to stay but couldn’t because they couldn’t find a good job.”
That’s a troubling sign for Louisiana, which is heavily dependent on oil and gas and tourism, industries which Plyer said are both seeking to increase automation and cut the size of their workforces.
“We have not diversified our industries in a substantial way to grow our economy and we will keep losing population until we do that,” Plyer said.
The declines in parish populations come as statewide population estimates, released in December, showed that Louisiana’s population overall increased by 10,000 people, rising to about 4.6 million. That was largely due to changes in how the Census Bureau uses federal records to count immigrants across the country.
While those changes, which were put in place last year, appear to have increased the accuracy of national population figures, it remains to be seen whether they will prove to be accurate on a more local level, Plyer said. That’s because the records being used don’t indicate where in the country the new residents live, forcing the Census Bureau to extrapolate from existing demographic trends.
As a result, the signs of growth seen this year may end up being illusory, Plyer said.
East Baton Rouge and Jefferson parishes, both of which saw declines in recent years, saw their population increase slightly in the new estimates, entirely due to the changes in how immigrant populations are calculated.
East Baton Rouge’s population climbed by about 2,080 residents, a 0.5% increase that brought it to about 453,020 people. And Jefferson grew by about 0.4%, a roughly 1,600-resident increase that left its population at about 427,250. Similar increases were also seen in St. John the Baptist and St. Bernard parishes.
The most substantial increases not driven by international movement were in parishes that have seen strong population growth in recent years.
Livingston Parish grew by about 2,320 people, or 1.5%, and now has a population of about 152,890. Ascension Parish grew by 1.2% and now has about 133,530 people.
St. Tammany Parish grew by about 0.7% and now has about 277,600 people.
The largest increase was in Lafayette, which grew by about 3,760 people, a 1.5% increase that now has its population at 254,240.
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