New Orleans-Metairie migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 21,717 people moved into the New Orleans metro and 31,204 moved out, a net of −9,487. Yellow arcs are people arriving, blue arcs are people leaving. Hover a dot to see the corridor, or click through to compare.
The map couldn’t load. The numbers below still tell the story.
† IRS methodology change in this year’s files (see methodology)
What the flows say
- Biggest published corridors: Slidell, LA leads both directions, with 2,184 people in and 4,630 out in 2022–23. The listed corridors cover about 54–62% of all flows; the totals count everyone.
- Trend: net outflow has eased over the last three years, from −13,982 in 2020–21 to −9,487 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
970,849
▼ 0.3% year over year · shrinking
Peak population · 2005
1,169,071
17.0% below the 2005 peak
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: domestic outflow led the population decline in 2025: −8,906, against births minus deaths (+627) and international migration (+5,776).
- Peak population: the high-water mark was 1,169,071 in 2005. The 2025 estimate of 970,849 is 17.0% below that.
Net income flow · 2022–23
−$405M
▼ $790M arrived · $1.2B left
Avg household income · movers
$58k in · $66k out
leavers out-earn arrivals by 14%
New Orleans wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the New Orleans metro in 2022–23 reported $790M in income (AGI). Households leaving took $1.2B with them, a net loss of $405M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $58k of income, vs $66k for leavers. Leavers out-earn arrivals by 14%.
About the data
Corridors are IRS county-to-county migration flows added up into metro areas (2023 Census metro definitions; exemptions ≈ people). "Rest of" entries cover a state's counties outside any featured metro. The IRS hides corridors with fewer than 20 returns, so the lists here cover about 54% of inbound and 62% of outbound movers in 2022–23. The in, out, and net totals count everyone. Income figures are the total income (AGI) movers reported, from the complete county totals. Dollars are not adjusted for inflation, and household averages divide by the number of returns. Population figures are Census Bureau estimates; the peak covers records since 2000. Years marked † had a change in how the IRS built the files. Full details on the methodology page.
Download this data (CSV), free to use with attribution.
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