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Originally Posted by socigradstudent
I want everyone's thoughts on this because I'm bothered by it: https://www.nola.com/news/business/n...7d9e49977.html
Here's my issue: "The population drop also comes as the New Orleans-Metairie region is still adjusting to a major change by the Census Bureau. Until 2020, St. Tammany Parish was considered part of the metro region. The suburban parish is now considered its own metro area, however, with a population of 275,583."
Why is St. Tammany its own metro area now? I fundamentally disagree with this -- it is unequivocally part of the New Orleans metro. Other cities have way more sprawling metro boundaries, and those municipalities are included in their respective metropolitan areas (Atlanta, Houston, Dallas). Why is New Orleans (being treated) differently? If there wasn't a body of water separating us, and instead, it was contiguous to Orleans, I don't think this would be an issue. Losing St. Tammany has now brought the official MSA-designated metro area to < 1 million. I do not understand at all why this major change occurred.
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I agree and while there are definitely issues that the region faces, I can't help distrusting the census. Remember they were found to have consistently undercounted the population's recovery after Katrina when the numbers were challenged. It seems the metro change was based on commuting patterns from the 2020 census, when of course, we were in the middle of lockdowns.
I think the census' methodology doesn't capture an accurate picture of the area. For one, measuring in the middle of the summer doesn't capture the large number of college students and part-time residents who might be living here 9 months out of 12. It's also easy to see the huge number of out of state plates from people who live here but register their vehicles out of state for cheaper insurance.
Compare other datasets. USPS data shows Orleans having nearly 4000 more active residential addresses from April 2020 to July 2023, yet the Census estimates a population decline of nearly 20,000. St. Tammany shows about 7000 more residential addresses and the Census estimates growth of 11,000. Look at employment figures - the state has been putting up record numbers and the city has been doing well too. It just does make sense that there would be a significant population decline.