U.S. Census Bureau Profile America Facts For Features Special Edition Hurricane Katrina 10th Anniversary: Aug. 29, 2015

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Aug 20, 2015, 06:24 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hurricane Katrina is the costliest U.S. hurricane on record, and the deadliest to strike our nation since 1928. After initially making U.S. landfall on Aug. 25, 2005, in South Florida as a Category 1, it moved into the Gulf of Mexico, rapidly intensified into a Category 5 and made its second landfall early the morning of Aug. 29 in Plaquemines Parish in Southeast Louisiana as a strong Category 3 with sustained winds of 125 mph. After briefly moving over water, it made a third landfall later that morning near the Louisiana-Mississippi border. Katrina weakened as it moved north-northeastward over land but remained a hurricane as far inland as the vicinity of Meridian, Miss., a straight distance of more than 130 miles from the coast. Ultimately, Katrina was responsible for 1,833 deaths and damage estimated at $151 billion, including $75 billion in the New Orleans area and along the Mississippi coast. Federal disaster declarations issued in the hurricane's wake covered not only all of the coastal counties of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, but extended well inland to include cities such as Baton Rouge, La.; Jackson, Miss.; and Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The New Orleans metro area has for the most part, seen gains in population, housing units and businesses since the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, recovering (or mostly so) to pre-Katrina levels.

Mississippi coastline counties have, for the most part, seen gains in population, housing units and businesses since the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, recovering (or mostly so) to pre-Katrina levels.

This edition of Facts for Features focuses on the two areas that received significant damage: the New Orleans metro area and coastal portions of Mississippi. It compares statistics from before the hurricane struck to a year later, and currently, using a variety of demographic and economic measures. One may use the sources listed below to look at change over the period in other counties and parishes affected by the storm. It should be noted that 2005 was the most active hurricane season ever recorded, with three other major hurricanes also striking the U.S.: Dennis, Rita and Wilma.

Louisiana

Note: The New Orleans-Metairie, La., Metropolitan Statistical Area currently consists of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist and St. Tammany parishes. St. James Parish was not part of the metro area in 2005 and 2006, but is included for those years in the data below for comparability.

Population

1.252 million
Population of the New Orleans metro area as of July 1, 2014.

2005 population	2006 population	2014 population
1.386 million	1.040 million	1.252 million

Source: Population Estimates and Intercensal Population Estimates

50
For the first time since Hurricane Katrina struck, New Orleans returned in 2014 to the list of the nation's 50 most populous cities, ranking 50^th at 384,320. The city's population was 494,294 on July 1, 2005, before dropping to 230,172 one year later.
Source: Population Estimates and Intercensal Population Estimates

67.3%
Percentage of the city of New Orleans' population that was single-race black as of July 1, 2005. The black population was the largest race or ethnic group in the city before Katrina hit, and at 58.8 percent remained the largest race or ethnic group in the city immediately after Katrina hit in 2006. In 2014, the black population remains the city's largest race or ethnic group at 59.8 percent.
Source: Population Estimates and Intercensal Population Estimates

City of New Orleans

	2005	2006	2014
Black	67.3%	58.8%	59.8%
White, non-Hispanic	26.5%	33.1%	31.2%
Hispanic	3.5%	4.8%	5.5%
Asian	2.4%	3.0%	3.0%
American Indian Alaska Native	0.3%	0.4%	0.4%
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0.03%	0.1%	0.1%

Housing

553,627
Number of housing units in the New Orleans metro area as of July 1, 2014.

2005 housing units	2006 housing units	2014 housing units
592,800	438,278	553,627

Source: Housing Unit Estimates and Intercensal Housing Unit Estimates

Business Establishments and Employment

29,794
Number of business establishments with employees in the New Orleans metro area in 2013. These businesses employed 475,098 people.

	2005	2006	2013
Business establishments	31,401	29,002	29,794
Employment	517,194	427,373	475,098

Source for statements in this section: County Business Patterns

The Economy (New Orleans metro area)

Selection of establishments

Retail Trade

	2005	2006	2013
Grocery stores	573	430	461
Gasoline stations	447	407	481
Pharmacies and drug stores	221	165	194

Accommodations and Food Services

	2005	2006	2013
Hotels (except casino hotels)	259	227	269
Restaurants and eating places	2,138	1,860	2,375

Construction

	2005	2006	2013
Residential building construction establishments	535	652	396
Nonresidential building construction establishments	189	220	220
Highway, street and bridge construction establishments	28	26	41

Source for statements in this section: County Business Patterns

Mississippi

Note: The Mississippi coastline counties consist of the three that lie on the Gulf of Mexico: Hancock, Harrison and Jackson.

Population

386,144
Population of the Mississippi coastline counties as of July 1, 2014.

2005 population	2006 population	2014 population
383,412	347,253	386,144

Source: Population Estimates and Intercensal Population Estimates

Race and Hispanic Origin

	2005	2006	2014
White, non-Hispanic	73.1%	72.6%	68.8%
Black	19.7%	19.9%	21.4%
Hispanic	3.4%	3.6%	5.2%
Asian	2.2%	2.3%	2.5%
American Indian Alaska Native	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%

Source: Population Estimates and Intercensal Population Estimates

Housing

174,468
Number of housing units in the Mississippi coastline counties as of July 1, 2014.

2005 housing units	2006 housing units	2014 housing units
169,949	146,434	174,468

Source: Housing Unit Estimates and Intercensal Housing Unit Estimates

Business Establishments and Employment

7,041
Number of business establishments with employees in the Mississippi coastline counties in 2013. These businesses employed 125,157 people.

	2005	2006	2014
Business establishments	7,515	7,149	7,041
Employment	125,933	109,886	125,157

Source for statements in this section: County Business Patterns

The Economy (Mississippi coastline counties)

Retail Trade

	2005	2006	2013
Grocery stores	71	62	63
Gasoline stations	194	164	190

Accommodations and Food Services

	2005	2006	2013
Hotels (except casino hotels)	105	72	84
Restaurants and eating places	547	471	590

Construction

	2005	2006	2013
Residential building construction establishments	156	201	71
Nonresidential building construction establishments	38	48	57
Highway, street and bridge construction establishments	16	21	16

Source for statements in this section: County Business Patterns

Gulf Coast Towns: Bay Saint Louis, Pass Christian and Waveland, Miss.

These towns provide an example of how ZIP Code Business Patterns data can be used to provide statistics for local areas.

Population

	2005	2006	2014
Bay Saint Louis, Miss.	11,388	9,280	11,287
Pass Christian, Miss.	5,845	4,969	5,308
Waveland, Miss.	7,849	6,436	6,419

Number of Businesses

	2005	2006	2013
Bay Saint Louis, Miss. (ZIP code 39520)	353	283	265
Pass Christian, Miss. (ZIP code 39571)	215	187	189
Waveland, Miss. (ZIP code 39576)	136	114	120

Additional Resources

American Community Survey statistics

New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La., metropolitan area (2013: New Orleans-Metairie)

Social characteristics:
2005: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/05_EST/DP2/3100000US35380
2006: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/06_EST/DP2/3100000US35380
2013: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/13_1YR/DP02/310M200US35380

Economic characteristics:
2005: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/05_EST/DP3/3100000US35380
2006: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/06_EST/DP3/3100000US35380
2013: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/13_1YR/DP03/310M200US35380

Housing characteristics:
2005: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/05_EST/DP4/3100000US35380
2006: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/06_EST/DP4/3100000US35380
2013: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/13_1YR/DP04/310M200US35380

Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss., metropolitan area (2013: Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Miss.)

Social characteristics:
2005: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/05_EST/DP2/3100000US25060
2006: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/06_EST/DP2/3100000US25060
2013: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/13_1YR/DP02/310M200US25060

Economic characteristics:
2005: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/05_EST/DP3/3100000US25060
2006: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/06_EST/DP3/3100000US25060
2013: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/13_1YR/DP03/310M200US25060

Housing characteristics:
2005: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/05_EST/DP4/3100000US25060
2006: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/06_EST/DP4/3100000US25060
2013: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/13_1YR/DP04/310M200US25060

Related links

Hurricane Katrina special reports:
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/emergencies/hurricane_katrina.html
Forced to Move: An Analysis of Hurricane Katrina Movers
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/publications/HK_Movers-FINAL.pdf
Hurricane Katrina resource maps:
http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/maps/katrina_resource_maps.html
Migration flows:
http://flowsmapper.geo.census.gov/flowsmapper/flowsmapper.html
OnTheMap for Emergency Management provides reports on the workforce and population for current natural hazard and emergency related events.
http://onthemap.ces.census.gov/em.html

Following is a list of observances typically covered by the Census Bureau's Facts for Features series:

African-American History Month (February)	Labor Day
Super Bowl	Grandparents Day
Valentine's Day (Feb. 14)	Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15)
Women's History Month (March)	Unmarried and Single Americans Week
Irish-American Heritage Month (March)/	Halloween (Oct. 31)
St. Patrick's Day (March 17)	American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month
Earth Day (April 22)	(November)
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (May)	Veterans Day (Nov. 11)
Older Americans Month (May)	Thanksgiving Day
Mother's Day	The Holiday Season (December)
Hurricane Season Begins (June 1)
Father's Day
The Fourth of July (July 4)
Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act (July 26)
Back to School (August)

Editor's note: The preceding data were collected from a variety of sources and may be subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. Facts for Features are customarily released about two months before an observance in order to accommodate magazine production timelines.