As La. loses population, where do the people go?

Recently released data from two of the country’s largest moving companies could add more evidence to support the ongoing exodus from Louisiana as exemplified by federal data.
The U.S. Census data released in December shows the Pelican State lost the seventh most residents to domestic migration to other states between July 2022 and July 2023.
While 29,692 residents moved to other states, that figure represents a 38% decline from the 47,539 who left the year prior. Since a baseline estimate of 4,657,785 in April 2020, Louisiana’s population has declined by 84,036 to 4,573,749 in July 2023. The state’s population peaked at 4,681,346 in 2016, according to the Census data.
Regarding percentage population change between July 2022 and July 2023, Louisiana’s 0.3% decline matched Illinois and Hawaii, behind only Puerto Rico’s 0.4% and New York’s 0.5% declines.
Both U-Haul and Allied show significantly more residents moving out of Louisiana than moving in, though the companies present their data in different ways.
The U-Haul Growth Index looks at each state’s net gain or loss of one-way equipment from more than 2.5 million customer transactions annually.
“While one-way transactions in 2023 remained below the record-breaking levels we witnessed immediately following the pandemic, we continued to see many of the same geographical trends from U-Haul customers moving between states,” U-Haul International President John Taylor said in a statement.
That includes Louisiana’s low ranking in the index, which slid from 35th nationally in 2022 to 45th in U-Haul’s 2023 rankings.
“While U-Haul migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well states and cities are attracting and maintaining residents,” according to the report.
Neighboring Texas topped the list of growth states for the sixth time in eight years, while Arkansas improved by 26 spots to 17th. Mississippi ranked 39th, Oklahoma 41st, and Alabama 22nd.
Other top growth states following Texas include Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. California showed the largest net loss of one-way movers, followed by Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey, and Michigan.
The 2023 Allied U.S. Moving Migration Report shows 56.7% of its business in Louisiana involved outbound moves, compared to 43.3% inbound. Top destinations for those moving from Baton Rouge included Houston, Washington, DC, Austin, Denver, and Dallas. For Lafayette movers it was Houston, Boston, Newark, Midland, Texas, and Dallas.
Those who left New Orleans headed for Houston, Dallas, Tucson, Austin, and Denver, while top destinations for those who left Shreveport in 2023 included Houston, Los Angeles, Abilene, Texas, Chicago, and Norfolk, Virginia.
Allied listed South Carolina as the top inbound state, followed by Arizona, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida. Illinois, California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Washington topped the list of outbound states.
“This year marked another decrease in the volume of interstate moves,” according to the Allied report. “Following the 20% decrease in 2022 compared to 2021, there was a further 12% decline in 2023 relative to the previous year. This continuous decline indicates a notable shift in migration patterns over the last two years.”