Louisiana Population 2023

Situated in the deep south of the United States, Louisiana is known chiefly for the history and culture of its largest city, New Orleans. In fact, its capital city is Baton Rouge, even if its larger neighbor has dominated the headlines ever since the state came into existence. Louisiana has shown steady growth over the years.

There is a wide and diverse mix of people that make up the Louisiana population, which grew to 4,670,724 by the end of 2016. This reflects a modest rise over the previous year. Louisiana currently has a population growth rate of 0.75% annually, which ranks 27th in the country.

The last official census in the United States took place in 2010 and at the time, it was revealed that 4,533,372 people lived in Louisiana, which represented a modest growth of 1.4% on the figures from 2000. Sadly, the effects of Hurricane Katrina played something of a part in restricting the population and as a result of the disaster, some 1,500 people lost their lives.

In 2012, an estimate put the population of Louisiana at 4,601,893, a further increase from the 2010 Census, which has since increased to over 4.6 million. In terms of population, Louisiana is the 25th largest state within the US.

Louisiana Population Density and Area

With a surface area of 51,839 square miles, Louisiana is the 31st largest state in terms of pure land mass. In regards to population density, the figures are fairly modest. For every square mile of land, there is an average of around 105 people (40.5 per square kilometer).

Despite the low population density, there are several "hotspot" areas of population, mostly grouped around major cities. New Orleans is the largest city in the state, and its metropolitan area has an estimated population of 1.285 million in 2016 with a population density of 1,965 people per square mile in the city proper.

Overall, these statistics combine to make Louisiana the 24th most densely populated state in the entire USA.

The largest parish in Louisiana is the East Baton Rouge Parish, with over 446,000 individuals residing within its boundaries.

Louisiana Gender and Religion Statistics

The median age in Louisiana is 36.2 years of age, and the state also features a majority of females at 51.1% of the population and 48.9% males in the population.

In terms of religious preferences, Lousiana strongly leans towards Christianity with 84% of the population affiliated with a Christian based faith, while 2% are involved with non-Christian based faiths, which leaves 13% of the population unaffiliated with any particular religion.

Louisiana Boundary, Census, and Statehood History

Louisiana west of the Mississippi River was mostly part of the Louisiana Territory, which was ceded by Spain to France in 1803 and then sold by France to the United States. In 1804 much of the present State was included in the newly established Orleans Territory; the rest of the Louisiana Purchase became Louisiana Territory, renamed Missouri Territory in 1812. Louisiana was admitted as a State on April 30, 1812 and immediately added the Florida Parishes east of the Mississippi and north of Lake Pontchartrain, although these still were claimed by Spain until 1819. Also in 1819, the boundary with Mexico (Texas) was settled by treaty, bringing the State to essentially its present limits.

In 1810 the census covered most of the settled parts of what is now Louisiana, except for the Florida Parishes east of the Mississippi River. By 1820 census coverage extended to virtually all of the present State. Louisiana's primary subdivisions have long been termed parishes instead of counties; both terms appear in early censuses.

Louisiana Population History

At the nationwide census of 1810, the population of Louisiana was recorded at 76,556. This was, however, a time of substantial growth across the United States, and just ten years later, those numbers had grown by a fraction over 100% to 153,407.

This represented the biggest population increase on a census by census basis, but further healthy growth continued throughout the 1800s, and by the time the century drew to a close, numbers had risen to 1,381,625.

Many Louisiana urban environments continue to have a multilingual and multicultural heritage, which is greatly influenced by the African, Native American, Spanish and French cultures so strongly represented in the state during the 18th century. Louisiana had both Spanish and French colonies prior to the American purchase of the area, and African slaves were imported into the region during the 18th century. English was not made the only official language of the state until 1915.

Louisiana Population Growth

Population growth has been happening in Louisiana since its inception, and in the present day, the Louisiana population of 2016 now consists of more than 4.6 million people.

Louisiana Population Projections

The recent increases in population have been somewhat inconsistent. Therefore, it’s a little difficult to predict how the numbers in the state will develop.

In 2012, Census figures showed that New Orleans reached 81% of its pre-Katrina population, and there are still no official figures on how low the population of Louisiana's largest city fell after the storm. In 2013, it was reported that New Orleans grew 28.2% between 2007 and 2012. This rebound also caused New Orleans to be named as the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country.

Natural growth is healthy in Louisiana, and at the 2020 Census there should be a further rise in the overall population. With current growth trends, it's estimated that the population of Louisiana will grow to 4.7 million by 2025 and surpass 5 million by 2030.

Louisiana has an interesting diversity of races at any given time. The percentage of African Americans and blacks in the state is the second-highest in the nation, only trailing behind Mississippi. A high percentage of Cajuns and Creoles live in the southern portion of the state. There are also a significant number of Hispanics in the state, including the third largest Honduran American community located in metro New Orleans.

Louisiana's population still greatly reflects the state's history, and 3.5% of the population speaks Spanish at home while 3.4% speak French, including Louisiana Creole and Cajun. A total of 8.6% of the state's residents speak a language other than English at home.

There is a very high concentration of black Americans living in Louisiana, accounting for over 32% of the total population. The most common ancestry groups include African American (30.4%), French (16.8%), American (9.5%), German (8.3%), Irish (7.5%), English (6.6%) and Italian (4.8%). It's estimated that nearly half of the population in Louisiana below the age of 1 is a minority.

• Louisiana is the only state that doesn't have counties. Its political subdivisions are known as parishes.
• It is the only state with a large population of Cajuns, who came to the US in the 1700s after fleeing Canada.
• In fact, Kaplan - a city in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, is nicknamed, "The Most Cajun Place on Earth."
• Jean Lafitte has used the location of Barataria as a hideout for pirates (including himself!).
• Hurricane Katrina (2005) was one of the most expensive natural disasters in the US, causing a total of over $160 billion in damages.
• The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory in 1803 at a cost of $15 million.
• New Orleans has a Vietnamese population of over 14,000, the largest Vietnamese population in the state.