New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows nearly two-thirds of Louisiana parishes saw population declines last year. In Northwest Louisiana, that includes population drops in Bienville, Caddo, Claiborne, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine and Webster Parishes. Meanwhile, Bossier and DeSoto Parishes gained population. Bossier Parish saw a 10.1% increase from the 2010 U.S. Census to the 2020 Census.
Some of the larger population drops have come from several parishes including Claiborne Parish at 17.6%, Red River Parish, which saw a 16.2% drop, Webster Parish at 10.3%, while Caddo Parish experienced a 6.7% decline from the 2010 U.S. Census to the 2020 Census. For information on other parishes click here.
Allison Plyer is chief demographer with The Data Center, a research nonprofit. She explained, “Louisiana has had one of the weakest economies in the country for decades now. It’s not surprising that we’re losing population.”
Plyer adds that the state needs to rev up job growth and diversify industries outside of tourism and oil and gas. “Even though oil and gas is drilling more and more, they’re hiring less and less. Our dependence on industries like that mean we are not growing jobs.”
Census Bureau data reveals that Louisiana’s population has declined by roughly 50,000 people since 2020. Yet for 2024, Louisiana actually grew 0.2% stopping what had been four consecutives years of population loss. That increase is credited largely to a national wave of international immigration. The state’s growth rate is slower than any other state that gained population in the last year.
