LOUISIANA (NEXSTAR) – More than 105,000 people packed up their things and left Louisiana in 2022, new Census data released Thursday revealed.
But most of those folks didn’t go too far. The No. 1 destination for people leaving the Pelican State was just across the Sabine River. The Census estimates about 25,000 people made the move from Louisiana to Texas last year.
Continuing that trend, the second most popular state for people leaving Louisiana was another neighboring state: Mississippi. About 10,000 former Louisiana residents went east, while nearly 8,500 went southeast to Florida, which is not exactly a neighboring state, but it’s close.
Even the fourth and fifth most popular destinations stayed somewhat close to Louisiana. About 5,400 people moved from Louisiana to Alabama, and almost 5,000 moved to Arkansas, according to the data.
The least likely destinations for Louisianans leaving the state were Delaware, New Hampshire, Utah, Vermont, and Connecticut.
The new data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey. The survey happens more frequently than the official Census and gives people a better idea of changes happening in their community year to year.
Additionally, with tens of thousands of people hopping across Louisiana’s many borders, the state saw more people move out than move in last year. An estimated 75,000 people relocated to Louisiana. Continuing the trend of neighborly love, more than 17,000 new arrivals were from Texas.
