Scoop: GNO Inc. looks to reverse New Orleans population drop
By Chelsea Brasted
Source: Axios
July 15, 2026
Economic development organization GNO Inc. is working on a plan to grow the regional population by 5%, potentially growing the area to over 1.5 million people by 2032, CEO Michael Hecht tells Axios New Orleans.
Why it matters: The New Orleans metro is still losing population, according to the latest Census estimates.
By the numbers: The seven-parish New Orleans metro tallied 970,849 residents as of July 2025, according to the Data Center’s analysis of census data.
- That’s a 3.6% drop since April 2020.
State of play: Population numbers are one key metric all civic leaders can agree on, and a growing city is a winning city.
- Reversing population decline was a major theme of last year’s mayoral campaign, and it remains a common thread through civic discussions.
- Just last week, the Bureau of Governmental Research held a panel discussion with New Orleans and Jefferson Parish leaders to brainstorm solutions.
- “It’s a very serious question,” said Jeff Schwartz, New Orleans’ new deputy mayor for economic and community development. “We don’t want to be managing decline.”
Why people leave a place often comes down to a lack of economic opportunity, Data Center researcher Allison Plyer has told Axios New Orleans.
- But other factors come into play too, BGR panelists said last week, like quality of life, access to public transit, how easy it is to start and scale a business, and broader, existential concerns over flood protection and insurance costs.
Though details of GNO’s plan are still coming together, Hecht says the organization aims to address four key points:
- Economic opportunity,
- quality of life,
- affordability
- and New Orleans’ reputation, which Hecht says can create a negative “self-fulfilling prophecy” if left unchecked.
The big picture: Louisiana’s statewide population has grown modestly for the past two years, according to Census data cited by Fox 8.
- That growth is driven in large part by immigration, according to the Data Center.
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