Big Easy Fastest Growing Major U.S. City

But Population Still Only About Half What It Was Before Katrina; Cleveland Has Fastest Shrinking Population

(AP)  New Orleans was the fastest-growing large city in the nation last year, but its population is still about half what it was before Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday.

Between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, its population jumped 13.8 percent to 239,124, according to the bureau's latest statistics on cities with populations of at least 100,000.

That's just more than half the 453,726 people living there about two months before Katrina devastated the city and led to a near-total evacuation in August 2005.

The size of New Orleans' population has been debated since post-storm recovery began.

The Census Bureau estimated New Orleans' population by looking at its available housing units, along with building permits, construction without building permits and mobile home shipments. The data don't differentiate temporary laborers and others involved in recovery efforts who might not stay there.

Demographer Greg Rigamer said he believes the city currently has 315,000 to 320,000 residents, estimated by utility and water hookups, mail delivery and other public service accounts.

But Rigamer said the population report doesn't make New Orleans a boom town.

"We aren't fast-growing," he said. "We're recovering. It's good people are coming back, but you can't put us in with Houston. Come on."

Because of a year's delay on the figures, the population effects of current economic trends - like the real estate slowdown and high gas prices - aren't yet known, said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution.

"The fast-growing parts of the country are still fast-growing, but it's slowing down," Frey said. "It's evident all over Florida. Miami, Orlando and Tampa have shown significant slowdowns in the growth. Phoenix and several Texas cities have shown a slowdown."

At the same time, the credit crunch - making it more difficult to buy homes in the suburbs - may be responsible for year-to-year population gains in such cities as Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles, Frey said.

The Census report also found:

Texas cities showed rapid growth: Houston added the most people, with 38,932 new residents; San Antonio, Fort Worth and Austin were among the top 10 in numerical increases; and McKinney, Denton and Killeen were among the top 10 in percentage increases.

The consolidated metropolitan area of Nashville-Davidson County, Tenn., became the 25th largest city with 590,807 residents. Washington, D.C. fell out of the top 25.

Cleveland had the largest numerical decline in population over the latest year, losing 5,067 residents, followed by Columbus, Ga.; Baton Rouge, La.; Philadelphia and Baltimore. Cleveland also had the second greatest rate of loss over seven years, losing 8.3 percent of its population to stand at 438,042.

In 2007, New York remained the largest city with 8.3 million residents, followed by Los Angeles with 3.8 million and Chicago with 2.8 million.

[keithle1]

Not sure why CBS NEWS website is being targetted by dating site spammers. They must cease & desist! You have to use a dating site to meet people? Get a life.
Who want to see pics of your rolls of fat, Porky Pig?

Nothing is going to save Cleveland. People will continue to leave that city. There is nothing going on. No hope. No future. No jobs. No development.

Re New Orleans, why live in a city where you''re nervously watching the weather every hurricane season? Are there jobs for the people of the Big Easy? Are companies moving there? I don''t see the appeal. Nice place to party, show your b r e a s t s,
eat good food & hear great music. But apart from that, what is there? Why would you want to live there if you can afford to live somewhere else? I know New Orleans has a very high population of poor people.

[keithle1]

Cleveland, Philadelphia & Baltimore all share one thing in common: high crime rate.

Lots of homicide by...young black men. Go figure.

People with money & brains are getting the heck out of Dodge ASAP.

[keithle1]

Wha-----? Huh? Why? Me no understand!

Wouldn''t live there if you gave me $100,000.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

[reladyinfl]

Katrina is no longer media top news, but it was NOT natural causes responsible for the flooding of New Orleans. The levees never capped, the break was due to defects in the lower levels of the levees & a barge hitting a levee that had been tied to a bridge by the Corp of Engineers the day AFTER Katrina passed without damage as a Level 3. There is where the fault lies. My family had 3 residences at the lakefront area (two in Lakeview had to be rebuilt from the ground up), & even Brad Pitt acknowledges that their damages exceeded the 9th Ward. Upon getting back in the city after the water receded, what was left of their homes (after sitting in 9 feet of water for 3 weeks) had been looted by those that never left the city using boats. Guards had to be posted while rebuilding because of looters stealing doors, etc. to sale on the black market. Lakeview has received NO help from the government, but they are the working class tax base of New Orleans. The point of contention is if a bridge collapses or levee is found to have DEFECTS (which it did), these are NOT natural causes and responsibility should be taken by the Corp of Engineers. Excuses are given because of the magnitude of damage. Since the damage was due to the defective levee causing flooding and NOT due to the hurricane, many insurance companies STILL refuse to pay, continue to fight claims, and adjusters are committing fraud. It is so unfair to those that are hard working & not looking for handouts. NO/FL Lady

[toolmangler-2009]

If a city is destroyed by flood the US taxpayer will pay for its rebuilding because bushy_baby said so. If a US taxpayer loses everything he owns to a flood, bushy_baby says "tough noogies''. because he is god.

[deacon20081]

Propaganda Pure and Simple.
And the sheeple will believe it.

[nssherlock1]

Don''t forget, with every hurricane comes another looting opportunity!

[ramos937]

NO is one of our fastest growing cities? Why?

NO itself is an inverted soup bowl. History has taught us that the next hurricane will most likely be another Katrina like situation. Will we have to spend billions to bail these folks out again?

[kuei12]

"I''''m hoping for another hurricane down there, the place needs a another good bath! "

LOL

[frootloop47]

It''''s all fine and dandy for you people to sit here and criticize Mayor Nagin for his handling of the Katrina disaster, but, I wonder if any of you geniuses could have done any better. And remember New Orleans is one of the oldest cities in America. JUDGE NOT

Posted by crazycwp at 09:29 AM : Jul 10, 2008
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My freakin DOG could have done a better job then Ray Nagin!! Christ, he had a whole fleet of school buses sitting there from the start. What in Christ do you think a Mayor is supposed be prepared for...just Mardi Gras?