The Inequity of New Orleans' Katrina Recovery at 10

Number of people Hurricane Katrina initially displaced from New Orleans, where federal levee failures caused mass flooding: at least 400,000

Percent of white New Orleanians displaced by Katrina who returned to the city within a year: 67

Percent of displaced black New Orleanians who returned in that time: 44

Percent share of New Orleans' population that was African-American in 2005: 66

In 2013: 59

Number fewer African Americans living in New Orleans today than before the storm: 100,000

Number of low-income public housing units that were available in New Orleans before Katrina, almost all of them occupied by African Americans: 5,146

Number of low-income public housing units available in the city today: 1,925

Following the drastic makeover of New Orleans' public schools into mostly independently-run, less-regulated charters, portion of the city's white residents who say the schools have gotten stronger: 2/3

Percent of the city's African-American residents who agree: 55

Of every 10 jobs being added today in the New Orleans metro area, number that are in low-wage industries like tourism, administrative services and retail: 7

Amount by which the median income of white residents of New Orleans increased from 2005 to 2013: $11,000

Amount by which the median income of black New Orleans residents increased over that same period: $2,000

Percent of black men in New Orleans who were unemployed in 2000: 48

Percent of black men in New Orleans who are unemployed today: 52

New Orleans' percent poverty rate in 2005: 17.77

In 2013: 19.31

Percent of black children in New Orleans who lived in poverty in 2005: 44

Percent of black children who live in poverty there today: 50

Portion of white New Orleans residents who believe the city has mostly recovered since Katrina: nearly 4 out of 5

Portion of New Orleans' black residents who say it has not: nearly 3 out of 5

(Click on figure to go to source.)