KEY TAKEAWAYS:

New Orleans population fell from 460,000 to 209,000 after Katrina

City still nearly 100,000 below pre-storm numbers in 2024

Employment remains 17,000 lower than before 2005 hurricane

Lower Ninth Ward continues to show sharp population decline

Before Hurricane Katrina ravaged the coast, the New Orleans population was about 460,000. Twenty years later, the city has dropped to about 380,000 as it continues to rebuild.

Katrina still ranks as one of the deadliest and costliest storms to hit the United States in history. With more than 1 million displaced and 1,833 deaths, the population in New Orleans was severely impacted by the natural disaster.

“The city suffered moderate damage from the hurricane itself, but enormous damage from extensive flooding caused by breaks

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