Louisiana’s parishes ranked top 10 in the U.S. with largest percentage of population loss
Four of Louisiana’s parishes ranked top 10 in the U.S. for the largest percentage of population loss in 2022 according to a new U.S. Census estimate.
St. John the Baptist Parish, Terrebonne Parish, Plaquemines Parish, and St. Charles Parish, made the list among the fastest shrinking communities nationwide. The estimates were published as part of the U.S. Census annual estimate ranking the top 10 counties by percentage from July 1st, 2021 to July 1st, 2022.
The county in the U.S. with the largest percent decline was Lassen County, California, which saw a 6% drop. St. John the Baptist Parish ranked number two, with a population decrease of nearly 2,157 people or 5.1%. Followed by Terrebonne Parish with a 3.9% decline, and Plaquemines Parish ranked fourth with a 3.3% decrease. St. Charles Parish placed eighth on the list with a 2.7% decrease in population.
The state population decreased by 67,500 throughout 2020-2022, ranking Louisiana 4th with the largest population decrease. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Louisiana faced the destruction of Hurricane Laura in August. The American Red Cross stated Hurricane Laura caused extensive damage that kept families from returning to their homes for months. About six weeks after Laura hit, Hurricane Delta impacted many of the same towns.
The following year, in September Hurricane Ida brought widespread damage to communities including the four Louisiana parishes that ranked top 10 in the U.S. for the largest percentage of population loss.
The U.S. Census report states, during the height of the pandemic, many small counties experienced higher levels of domestic migration. The two general types of migration following a natural disaster are forced migration (evacuation), which may be mandated and is typically temporary; and voluntary migration resulting from an increase in “push factors” according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. In response to these storms, the migration of residents in Louisiana were possibly due to ongoing impact of natural disasters in 2020 and 2021.
Other push factors presented for outbound migration in Louisiana include the education and talent supply being significantly low, safety and resiliency due to crime, health care, and insurance problems based on a discussion held by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.
Louisiana was among the top ten states with outbound migration in 2022.
The current population is about 4.6 million. LABI estimated on average, the population growth from 2021 to 2031 is projected to decline by -6.3%.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: U.S. Census Bureau ranks Louisiana parishes top 10 in population loss
