Do you remember those bumper stickers in the eightes that came after the
oil bust? They said "I Believe in Lafayette." That could be true more now than
ever. The U-S Census shows that Lafayette is the only major city in
Louisiana that has grown since the last full census in 2000. Lafayette has
seen population increase one-point-7 percent. Demographer
Elliott Stonecipher says Lafayette learned well from the oil and gas bust of
the 1980s.
The new Census estimates say since 2000, Shreveport's population
declined half a percent; Baton Rouge dropped 2 and a half percent,
and New Orleans declined over 35 percent.