New Orleans demographics: two decades after Katrina
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New Orleans had an estimated 362,154 residents in 2025, according to the Census Bureau. That is about 135,000 fewer than the 496,938 counted in 1990, and the city is still smaller than it was before Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005.
| Year | New Orleans population |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 496,938 |
| 2000 | 484,674 |
| 2010 | 343,829 |
| 2020 | 383,997 |
| 2025 (estimate) | 362,154 |
The 2010 census, the first after the storm, counted 140,845 fewer people than in 2000, a loss of 29 percent in a decade. The city recovered about 40,000 of those residents by 2020, then began losing population again, falling 5.7 percent between the 2020 census and the 2025 estimate. It is still the largest city in Louisiana, ahead of Baton Rouge at 222,795.
Race and ethnicity
New Orleans is a majority-Black city. In the 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey, 53.9 percent of residents were Black, 30.1 percent non-Hispanic white, 8.2 percent Hispanic, and 2.8 percent Asian.
The Black share was highest in the 2000 census, at 66.7 percent, before Katrina, and dropped to 59.6 percent by 2010. The Hispanic share has grown fastest, from 3.1 percent in 2000 to 8.2 percent. About 6.6 percent of residents were born in another country.
Income, poverty, and housing
The median household income in New Orleans was $56,631, below the Louisiana median of $60,756. The poverty rate was 22.6 percent, down from 31.6 percent in 1990 but still higher than the state's 18.9 percent. Among the 69 cities with at least 300,000 people, New Orleans had the seventh-highest poverty rate.
The city has become much more educated. In 1990, 22.4 percent of adults 25 and older had a bachelor's degree. In the 2020 to 2024 survey, 42.4 percent did, well above Louisiana's 27.0 percent.
About 20.3 percent of the city's housing units were vacant, compared with 14.4 percent statewide. The homeownership rate was 51.2 percent, up from 43.7 percent in 1990.
The median age was 38.8, up from 31.7 in 1990, which puts the city slightly older than Louisiana as a whole at 38.0.
Parish and neighborhood figures are on the Orleans Parish page. State growth trends are covered in Louisiana's population gain from international immigration, and other cities' losses in the fastest-shrinking cities in America.
Sources
Population figures for 1990 through 2020 are from the decennial census, and the 2025 figure is from the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 Population Estimates. Race, income, poverty, education, housing, and age figures are from the 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, with earlier years from the decennial census long form and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey. The city of New Orleans and Orleans Parish share the same boundaries.
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What is the population of New Orleans?
New Orleans had an estimated 362,154 residents in 2025, according to the Census Bureau. The 2020 census counted 383,997, and the city had 484,674 people in 2000, before Hurricane Katrina. It is still the largest city in Louisiana.
What is the racial makeup of New Orleans?
In the 2020-2024 American Community Survey, New Orleans was 53.9 percent Black, 30.1 percent non-Hispanic white, 8.2 percent Hispanic, and 2.8 percent Asian. The Black share peaked at 66.7 percent in 2000 and the Hispanic share has more than doubled since.
What is the poverty rate in New Orleans?
22.6 percent in the 2020-2024 American Community Survey, down from 31.6 percent in 1990 but above Louisiana's 18.9 percent. Among cities with at least 300,000 people, New Orleans had the seventh-highest poverty rate.
