LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) - Louisiana has an out-migration problem, and has for a while. Back in 2010, the state lost a Congressional seat over it. In the past few years, we've lost tens of thousands more, according to recent reports.

Our neighbor to the west, Texas, is the most popular target for people leaving the state - more than 25,000 people from Louisiana have moved there since 2022. Mississippi has also gotten a lot of Louisiana's disaffected, picking up just over 10,000 former residents over the last two years.

1130 The Tiger logo
Get our free mobile app

According to data compiled by 24/7 Wall Street, there are various reasons that people are leaving Louisiana.

"While reasons for moving vary from person to person, the recent uptick in interstate mobility may be tied to recent changes in the labor market," the site explained. "[S]pecifically, the sweeping adoption of remote work policies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Census data shows that more than 24 million Americans worked from home in 2022, compared to fewer than 9 million in 2019, the year before the pandemic."

"The historic number of moves across state lines in 2022 was driven in part by moves out of Louisiana," the site added. "An estimated 105,897 Americans left Louisiana in 2022 for a different part of the country."

That's a lot of movement. But while we know where people are going, where out there are they not going? 24/7 Wall Street has that data, too. A lot of these places are in the northeastern part of the country, with a couple far to our west. All of them are definitely NOT southern states, which may also have an impact.

The Top 9 States Louisiana ISN'T Moving To

Gallery Credit: Joe Cunningham