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Neighborhood Change Rates Growth continues through 2017 in New Orleans neighborhoods The Data Center Released: August 17, 2017 In March of this year, the U.S. Census Bureau released its 2016 estimate of the total population of New Orleans, confirming that the population of the city grew by 1,757 people from 2015 to 2016. Many headlines have incorrectly stated that more people are leaving New Orleans than arriving, but according to the Census, about 260 more people moved to New Orleans than moved out over the last year. Add to this births and subtract deaths, and the total estimated population of New Orleans has grown to 391,495.
Source: The Data Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau 2016 Population Estimates
Where are reporters getting the idea that more people are leaving than coming? They are looking only at the domestic migration estimate, which is a negative 759.
But they are failing to look at the international migration estimate which is a positive 1,020. Estimating the movement of people into and out of any parish is difficult and has some limitations1. Nonetheless, there is no data to support the assertion that more people are leaving than moving to New Orleans. The bottom line is that New Orleans continues to grow. New Orleans’ population not only continues to grow, but its growth rate is relatively strong. Looking at change since the last Census head count in 2010, the Census Bureau calculates that the New Orleans population grew 14 percent by 2016, resulting in a ranking of 63rd on population growth out of 714 U.S. cities with populations of 50,000 or more.2 For a closer and more up-to-date look at New Orleans’ neighborhood change, the number of active residential addresses based on U.S. Postal Service data is a useful indicator of population growth as recent as June 2017. All told, New Orleans households receiving mail increased 15 percent from June 2010 to June 2017, with 67 of 72 neighborhoods experiencing gains. Topping this list is the Central Business District which has added 1,986 residences since 2010. Many neighborhoods that flooded when the levees failed in 2005 grew substantially from 2010 to 2017. Little Woods, Central City, Lakeview, and Seventh Ward all gained more than 1,000 households. Mid-City, Filmore, Lower Ninth Ward, St. Bernard area, Treme/Lafitte, St.Roch, Holy Cross, and West Lake Forest all gained between 600 and 1,000 households. Only five neighborhoods lost households from 2010 to 2017. Of those neighborhoods, four were on the west bank (Behrman, McDonogh, Old Aurora, and U.S. Naval Support Area). Looking at change from June 2016 to June 2017, postal data indicates that the New Orleans population grew an additional one percent over the last year. The data shows that 85 percent of the city’s neighborhoods experienced an increase in active residences from 2016 to 2017. Twelve years after Katrina, there are 21 neighborhoods in the city that now have a larger number of active addresses than they did prior to the levee breaches. Four neighborhoods have less than half the population they had prior to Katrina, including three public housing sites that have been demolished to make way for new mixed–income housing: B.W. Cooper, Florida Development, and Iberville. The Lower Ninth Ward, where the surge of water was so strong it knocked homes completely off their foundations, also has less than half the population it had prior to Katrina. For data by neighborhood going back to June 2005, be sure to check out the downloadable Excel tables.
While not alarming, the latest Census estimates do suggest that growth of the New Orleans population is now less dependent on returning residents. To be sure, the total population of the metro area will rise and fall with economic growth, but workers and their families will choose the parish they find most attractive to live. New Orleans’ ability to attract additional population will be largely dependent on availability of affordable housing, reliable transportation to job centers, low crime rates, and appealing amenities.
Uptown
Freret
West Riverside
Au du bo n
Central City Lower Garden District
Central Business District
Iberville
French Quarter
Jefferson Parish
Garden St. Thomas District Dev Touro Irish Channel East Riverside
Milan
Broadmoor
B.W. Cooper
Tulane / Gravier
St. Roch
Gentilly Terrace
Milneburg Plum Orchard
Little Woods
Behrman
al B as e
Old Aurora
Tall Timbers / Brechtel
Holy Cr os s
Lower Ninth Ward
Pines Village
U.S. N av
Fischer Development
Whitney
Bywater
St. Claude
Florida Florida Dev Area
Desire
Gentilly Woods
Pontchartrain Park
McDonogh
Algiers Point
Marigny
Seventh Ward
Treme' / Lafitte
Bayou St. John
Fairgrounds
St. Bernard Area
Dillard
Source: The Data Center analysis of data from FEMA.
Black Pearl
East Carrollton
Marlyville/ Fontainebleau
Gert Town
Mid-City
City Park
Filmore
St. Anthony
Lake Terrace & Oaks
Lake Pontchartrain
St. Bernard Parish
Plaquemines Parish
New Aurora / English Turn
Mississippi River
Read Blvd West
West Lake Forest
Read Blvd East
Viavant/Venetian Isles
Village de l'est
0
Lake Catherine
2 Miles
| August 2017
Leonidas
Navarre
Lakeview
Dixon
Lakewood
Hollygrove
Jefferson Parish
West End
Lakeshore / Lake Vista
Neighborhood Boundaries
Receded Waters September 11, 2005
New Orleans flood extent September 11, 2005
NEW ORLEANS FLOOD EXTENT - SEPTEMBER 11, 2005
2 D ATA C E N T E R R E S E A R C H . O R G
Navarre
n
Uptown
Freret
West Riverside
Audubo
Central City
Touro
U.S. N av al Ba se
Holy C
Old Aurora
Tall Timbers / Brechtel
ross
Viavant/Venetian Isles
Village de l'est
St. Bernard Parish
New Aurora / English Turn
Mississippi River
Read Blvd East
Plaquemines Parish
Read Blvd West
West Lake Forest
Plum Orchard
Lower Ninth Ward
Behrman Fischer Development
McDonogh
Algiers Point Whitney
Jefferson Parish
Lower Garden District
Central Business District
French Quarter
Garden St. Thomas District Dev Irish Channel East Riverside
Milan
Broadmoor
Iberville
Bywater
St. Claude
Florida FloridaDev Area
Desire
Gentilly Woods
Pines Village
Little Woods
Source: The Data Center analysis of Valassis Residential and Business Database
Black Pearl
East Carrollton
B.W. Cooper
Tulane / Gravier
St. Roch
Gentilly Terrace
Marigny
Seventh Ward
Dillard
Treme' / Lafitte
Bayou St. John
Fairgrounds
St. Bernard Area
Filmore
St. Anthony
in Pontchartra Park Milneburg
Lake Terrace & Oaks
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Catherine
0
2 Miles
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Marlyville/ Leonidas Fontainebleau
Gert Town
Dixon
City Park
Mid-City
Lakeview
Lakewood
West End
Hollygrove
Jefferson Parish
Lakeshore / Lake Vista
Greater than 6%
3.1 - 6%
1.1 - 3%
0.01 - 1%
Less than 0% (fewer active addresses)
PERCENT CHANGE OF JUNE 2016 RESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES ACTIVELY RECEIVING MAIL IN JUNE 2017
3 D ATA C E N T E R R E S E A R C H . O R G
n
Uptown
Freret
Central City
Touro
U.S. N av al Ba se
Holy C
Old Aurora
Tall Timbers / Brechtel
ross
Viavant/Venetian Isles
Village de l'est
St. Bernard Parish
New Aurora / English Turn
Mississippi River
Read Blvd East
Plaquemines Parish
Read Blvd West
West Lake Forest
Plum Orchard
Lower Ninth Ward
Behrman Fischer Development
McDonogh
Algiers Point Whitney
Bywater
St. Claude
Florida FloridaDev Area
Desire
Jefferson Parish
Lower Garden District
Garden St. Thomas District Dev Irish Channel East Riverside
Milan
Iberville
French Quarter
Marigny
Central Business District
Tulane / Gravier
Treme' / Lafitte
St. Roch
Gentilly Terrace
Gentilly Woods
Pines Village
Little Woods
Source: The Data Center analysis of Valassis Residential and Business Database
West Riverside
Audubo
Dillard
Seventh Ward
Fairgrounds
St. Bernard Area
Bayou St. John
B.W. Cooper
Broadmoor
Marlyville/ Fontainebleau
East Carrollton
Leonidas
Mid-City
Gert Town
Dixon
City Park
Filmore
St. Anthony
in Pontchartra Park Milneburg
Lake Terrace & Oaks
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Catherine
0
2 Miles
| August 2017
Black Pearl
Navarre
Lakeview
Lakewood
West End
Hollygrove
Jefferson Parish
Lakeshore / Lake Vista
Greater than 50%
25.1 - 50%
10.1 - 25%
0.1 - 10%
Less than 0% (fewer active addresses)
PERCENT CHANGE OF JUNE 2010 RESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES ACTIVELY RECEIVING MAIL IN JUNE 2017
4 D ATA C E N T E R R E S E A R C H . O R G
n
Uptown
Freret
Touro
U.S. N av al B a se
Holy C
Old Aurora
Tall Timbers / Brechtel
ross
Viavant/Venetian Isles
Village de l'est
St. Bernard Parish
New Aurora / English Turn
Mississippi River
Read Blvd East
Plaquemines Parish
Read Blvd West
West Lake Forest
Plum Orchard
Lower Ninth Ward
Behrman Fischer Development
McDonogh
Jefferson Parish
Lower Garden District
Garden St. Thomas District Dev Irish Channel East Riverside
Milan
Central City
Algiers Point Whitney
Bywater
St. Claude
Florida FloridaDev Area
Desire
Gentilly Woods
Pines Village
Little Woods
Source: The Data Center analysis of Valassis Residential and Business Database
West Riverside
Audubo
Broadmoor
Central Business District
Iberville
St. Roch
Gentilly Terrace
Marigny
French Quarter
Treme' / Lafitte
Tulane / Gravier
B.W. Cooper
Dillard
Seventh Ward
Fairgrounds
St. Bernard Area
Bayou St. John
City Park
Mid-City
Gert Town
Dixon
Marlyville/ Fontainebleau
East Carrollton
Leonidas
Black Pearl
Navarre
Lakeview
Lakewood
West End
Filmore
St. Anthony
in Pontchartra Park Milneburg
Lake Terrace & Oaks
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Catherine
0
2 Miles
| August 2017
Hollygrove
Jefferson Parish
Lakeshore / Lake Vista
More than 1000
601 - 1000
251 - 600
0 - 250
Less than zero
CHANGE IN NUMBER OF ACTIVE RESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES FROM JUNE 2010 TO JUNE 2017
5 D ATA C E N T E R R E S E A R C H . O R G
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About Valassis data The Data Center relies on the Valassis Residential and Business Database‚ which must be purchased from Valassis Direct Mail Inc, for neighborhood–level tabulations of addresses receiving mail. Valassis is one of only a few companies nationwide that qualifies to receive weekly data feeds from the U.S. Postal Services’ Address Management Services database. The Valassis Database is unique from other sources of U.S. Postal Service data because it provides address level data. Although the address level data cannot be released to the public‚ The Data Center developed a robust in–house geocoding process in order to generate extremely accurate census–block and neighborhood level data. The Valassis Database includes active and vacant addresses‚ but does not include no–stat addresses. You can find more detailed information in the following The Data Center publications: Plyer, A., & Ortiz, E. (2011, June). Valassis Lists Data as an Indicator of Population Recovery in the New Orleans Area. Retrieved from https:// gnocdc.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/GNOCDC_ValassisListsDataAsAnIndicatorOfPopulationRecovery.pdf. This technical documentation includes detailed descriptions of the Valassis, Inc. database‚ including a comparison of counts of ac-tive residential addresses between sources of U.S. Postal Service data. Plyer, A., & Bonaguro, J. (2007, June). Using U.S. Postal Service Delivery Statistics To Track the Repopulation of New Orleans and the Metropolitan Area. Retrieved from https://gnocdc.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/GNOCDC_research_note_May07.pdf. This research note explains why U.S. Postal Service Delivery Statistics are useful for tracking repopulation in a post–disaster context‚ and documents some of the limitations of the data as a measure of repopulation. Plyer, A., Bonaguro, J., & Hodges, K. (2009). Using administrative data to estimate population displacement and resettlement following a catastrophic U.S. disaster. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/27r338422847q807/. This paper published in an academic journal reviews literature from the fields of demography and other disciplines to identify avail-able administrative data sets including USPS data that can form the basis of sound‚ relevant‚ and timely county–level population estimates following a catastrophic U.S. event.
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About The Data Center The Data Center is the most trusted resource for data about greater New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana. Since 1997, The Data Center has been an objective partner in bringing reliable, thoroughly researched data to conversations about building a more prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable region. The Data Center (formerly known as the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center) became the local authority for tracking post-Katrina recovery with The New Orleans Index, developed in partnership with the Brookings Institution.
Acknowledgments We thank all The Data Center staff who contributed to the production of this report and Southpaw Creative for providing design. The Data Center is supported in part by Baptist Community Ministries, Entergy Corp, Foundation for Louisiana, George H. Wilson Jr. Fund, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Kabacoff Family Foundation, Keller Family Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Methodist Health Systems Foundation, RosaMary Foundation, Surdna Foundation, United Way of Southeast Louisiana, Walton Family Foundation, Whitney Bank, and data users like you.
Notes The Census relies on documented international migration data, as well as change of addresses on IRS tax forms and Medicare forms to estimate international and domestic movements. However, this method cannot capture all migration. Specifically, undocumented immigrants, low-income people who don’t file taxes, and even young professionals who continue to file their taxes at their parents’ home in a different state or county…all of these groups are not well captured in the Census’ estimation methodology.
References 2. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. (May 2017). Cumulative Estimates of Resident Population Change for Incorporated Places of 50,000 or More in 2010, Ranked by Percent Change: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2016 [Data file]. Retrieved from https://factfinder.census.gov