Population Displacement—The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on the State of Louisiana

Using quarterly population estimates, the dramatic change in population pre- and post-Katrina can easily be understood. The estimates, built from the ZIP+4 level and mapped at the census tract level, reveal where Louisiana's population has shifted as a result of the hurricane's impact. Seventy percent of the census tracts in the state saw an increase in population totaling 11,746 people, but 30 percent of the census tracts experienced a population decrease of 460,190, resulting in Louisiana's state population decreasing by an estimated 348,444.