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So what's the deal with Louisiana? Whatever happened to New Orleans actually being legitimately growing now and not just recapturing its departees from Katrina?
I love me some Louisiana and I'm a native of New Orleans, but I would never, never move back though I do enjoy visiting sometimes.
To me, New Orleans is improved after the cleanup from Katrina. But overall the state is beset with problems. For starters, just the weather alone is rough - extremely hot and humid, with lots of rain and severe weather overall. But I think the main issues are government corruption and mismanagement, a high crime rate that's even state wide, an increasing drug problem, and the bust of the oil and gas industry in the Haynesville shale, and I'm sure there are other issues I haven't addressed.
Louisiana is largely rural and even in New Orleans, deeply entrenched poverty is an issue for the state. Look at Mississippi next door - lots of the same issues and it's losing population too.
Interesting that Pennsylvania has moved back ahead of Illinois. This is despite Pennsylvania having an older demographic, thus a lower natural increase (births minus deaths) and traditionally lower foreign immigration (although maybe this has changed recently). Pennsylvania is adjacent to three high tax, high cost of living states (New York, New Jersey and Maryland) so it is likely getting significant in-migration from each of these neighbors.
Illinois on the other hand tends to see out-migration to other Midwest states that are more affordable and have a smaller and less dysfunctional public sector. Yes, some young single college graduates do flock to Chicago from across the region - but many head back to their hometowns a few years later, especially when they are ready to start families. Gaining smaller households and losing larger households will result in an overall net loss of population.
I love me some Louisiana and I'm a native of New Orleans, but I would never, never move back though I do enjoy visiting sometimes.
To me, New Orleans is improved after the cleanup from Katrina. But overall the state is beset with problems. For starters, just the weather alone is rough - extremely hot and humid, with lots of rain and severe weather overall. But I think the main issues are government corruption and mismanagement, a high crime rate that's even state wide, an increasing drug problem, and the bust of the oil and gas industry in the Haynesville shale, and I'm sure there are other issues I haven't addressed.
Louisiana is largely rural and even in New Orleans, deeply entrenched poverty is an issue for the state. Look at Mississippi next door - lots of the same issues and it's losing population too.
Louisiana also has much less in the way of white collar, professional employment relative to its size than most other states across the region. Even some other traditionally poorer states are further ahead - Arkansas has huge corporate operations for Wal-Mart and other companies in the northwest, for example; Alabama has a high-tech defense cluster around Huntsville and significant medical research in Birmingham; Tennessee has large health care administration and media sectors in Nashville. Obviously Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, etc. are even more developed in this respect.
Such opportunities draw migrants from across the nation to the favored parts of other Southern states, especially since they also have many quality of life advantages and a lower cost of living than other parts of the US. Louisiana and Mississippi have lagged behind as far as more advanced economic development is concerned, and they are not especially popular retirement destinations either, like South Carolina for instance. Unfortunately on key statistical measures they tend to have too much of the bad indicators and not enough of the good ones - even though there is a lot of beauty and interesting features in both states.
Louisiana also has much less in the way of white collar, professional employment relative to its size than most other states across the region. Even some other traditionally poorer states are further ahead - Arkansas has huge corporate operations for Wal-Mart and other companies in the northwest, for example; Alabama has a high-tech defense cluster around Huntsville and significant medical research in Birmingham; Tennessee has large health care administration and media sectors in Nashville. Obviously Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, etc. are even more developed in this respect.
Such opportunities draw migrants from across the nation to the favored parts of other Southern states, especially since they also have many quality of life advantages and a lower cost of living than other parts of the US. Louisiana and Mississippi have lagged behind as far as more advanced economic development is concerned, and they are not especially popular retirement destinations either, like South Carolina for instance. Unfortunately on key statistical measures they tend to have too much of the bad indicators and not enough of the good ones - even though there is a lot of beauty and interesting features in both states.
I agree - even more problems. I don't think either state has done well in attracting a variety of high paying jobs whether they are white collar or blue collar professionals.
For about ten years, the Haynesville Shale provided a lot of very high paying blue collar professional jobs in the oil and gas sector. But it has slumped significantly. And also another oddity was that these jobs paid so well that many people (like my husband) just commuted from other states and never actually moved to Louisiana for the jobs, keeping much of that income in other states.
None of the New England states lost population, despite the fact that Boston is the only really booming city. (Connecticut sure was close, though).
The Northeast is still overwhemingly slow or stagnant in terms of growth; even "booming" areas like Boston are still very much in the "slow growth" range compared to the major urban areas of the South and West.
I don't find this to be a negative attribute, though. The aspect that many folks overlook when considering slower-growth or relatively stagnant areas is more established, well-planned areas and economies that are very productive and provide a high standard-of-living. The Northeastern US is arguably the Western Europe of America in terms of demographic/socioeconomic trends.
New Mexico continues to be one of the slowest growing states while all the states that border it are booming.
Which is surprising considering our unemployment levels are at an all time low (Thanks to Trump's economic policies no doubt ) . Just about every Wendy's and KFC is hiring here. Up to $9.50 an hour starting!
Which is surprising considering our unemployment levels are at an all time low (Thanks to Trump's economic policies no doubt ) . Just about every Wendy's and KFC is hiring here. Up to $9.50 an hour starting!
I think New Mexico's neighbors of Texas, Colorado, Utah and Arizona are experiencing strong growth from a lot more than hiring at fast food establishments. Presidential administrations and their economic policies come and go over the years, but the fundamentals that influence growth in the states tend to be much more stable ... and NM has long lagged behind its neighbors.
PENNSYLVANIA HAS TRIUMPHED AND REACHED 5th! A MIGHTY ACHIEVEMENT FOR THIS WONDROUS LAND!
But PA lost 5th a few decades ago, so I don’t think it’s much of a triumph. My guess is that, within error, IL and PA will be effectively the same population during the 2020 census.
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Presidential administrations and their economic policies come and go over the years, but the fundamentals that influence growth in the states tend to be much more stable ... and NM has long lagged behind its neighbors.
