New Orleans - Wikipedia New Orleans This article is about the city. For other uses, see New Orleans ( disambiguation ). `` The Big Easy '', `` NOLA '', and `` City of New Orleans '' redirect here. For other uses, see The Big Easy ( disambiguation ), NOLA ( disambiguation ), and City of New Orleans ( disambiguation ). New Orleans, Louisiana Consolidated city - parish City of New Orleans From top clockwise : View of the Central Business District and Mercedes - Benz Superdome, an RTA Streetcar passing through Uptown New Orleans, a view of Royal Street in the French Quarter, a typical New Orleans mansion off St. Charles Avenue, and the St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square Flag Seal Nickname ( s ) : The Crescent City ; The Big Easy ; The City That Care Forgot ; Nawlins ; NOLA Location of New Orleans in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. New Orleans, Louisiana Location in the United States of America Coordinates : 29 ° 57 ′ N 90 ° 05 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 29.95 ° N 90.08 ° W ﻿ / 29.95 ; - 90.08 Coordinates : 29 ° 57 ′ N 90 ° 05 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 29.95 ° N 90.08 ° W ﻿ / 29.95 ; - 90.08 Country United States State Louisiana Parish Orleans Founded 1718 Named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans ( 1674 -- 1723 ) Government Mayor Mitch Landrieu ( D ) Area Consolidated city - parish 349.85 sq mi ( 906.10 km ) Land 169.42 sq mi ( 438.80 km ) Water 180.43 sq mi ( 467.30 km ) Metro 3,755.2 sq mi ( 9,726.6 km ) Elevation - 6.5 to 20 ft ( - 2 to 6 m ) Population ( 2010 ) Consolidated city - parish 343,829 Estimate ( 2016 ) 371,495 Density 2,310.78 / sq mi ( 892.20 / km ) Metro 1,262,888 ( US : 46th ) Demonym ( s ) New Orleanian Time zone CST ( UTC − 6 ) Summer ( DST ) CDT ( UTC − 5 ) Area code ( s ) 504 FIPS code 22 - 55000 Website nola.gov New Orleans ( / nj uː ˈɔːrli. ən z, - ˈɔːrˈliːnz, - ˈɔːrlənz /, or / ˈnɔːrlənz / ; French : La Nouvelle - Orléans ( la nuvɛlɔʁleɑ̃ ) ( listen ) ) is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. The New Orleans metropolitan area ( New Orleans -- Metairie -- Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area ) had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans -- Metairie -- Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a larger trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502. Before Hurricane Katrina, Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana. As of 2015, it ranked third, trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish and East Baton Rouge Parish. The city is known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. New Orleans is famous for its cuisine, music ( particularly as the birthplace of jazz ) and its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The city is often referred to as the `` most unique '' in the United States. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, and occupies both sides of the Mississippi River. The heart of the city and its French Quarter is on the river 's north side. The city and Orleans Parish ( French : paroisse d'Orléans ) are coterminous. The city and parish are bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany to the north, St. Bernard to the east, Plaquemines to the south, and Jefferson to the south and west. Lake Pontchartrain, part of which lies within the city limits, lies to the north and Lake Borgne lies to the east. Contents 1 Names 2 History 2.1 Beginnings 2.2 United States territory 2.3 Battle of New Orleans 2.4 Port 2.5 Slavery and immigration 2.6 Civil War 2.7 Reconstruction 2.8 Jim Crow era 2.9 20th century 2.9. 1 Civil Rights Movement 2.9. 2 Drainage and flood control 2.10 21st century 2.10. 1 Hurricane Katrina 2.10. 2 Hurricane Rita 2.10. 3 Post-disaster recovery 3 Geography 3.1 Elevation 3.2 Cityscape 3.2. 1 Historic and residential architecture 3.2. 2 Tallest buildings 3.3 Climate 3.4 Threat from tropical cyclones 4 Demographics 4.1 Religion 4.2 Ethnic groups 4.3 Changes in population 5 Economy 5.1 Port 5.2 Business 5.3 Tourist and convention business 5.4 Other 5.5 Top employers 6 Culture and contemporary life 6.1 Tourism 6.2 Entertainment and performing arts 6.3 Food 6.4 Dialect 7 Sports 8 National protected areas 9 Government 10 Crime 10.1 Murder Capitol 11 Education 11.1 Colleges and universities 11.2 Primary and secondary schools 11.3 Libraries 12 Media 13 Transportation 13.1 Streetcars 13.2 Bicycling 13.3 Buses 13.4 Roads 13.5 Airports 13.6 Rail 13.7 Ferries 14 Notable people 15 Sister cities 15.1 Twinnings and Partnerships 16 See also 17 Notes 18 References 19 Further reading 20 External links Names The New Orleans cityscape in early - February 2007 The city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723. It has many illustrative nicknames : Crescent City alludes to the course of the Lower Mississippi River around and through the city. The Big Easy was possibly a reference by musicians in the early 20th century to the relative ease of finding work there. It may have originated in the Prohibition era, when the city was considered one big speakeasy due to the government 's inability to control alcohol sales in open violation of the 18th Amendment. The City that Care Forgot has been used since at least 1938, and refers to the outwardly easy - going, carefree nature of the residents. History Main articles : History of New Orleans and Timeline of New Orleans Beginnings Historical affiliations Kingdom of France 1718 -- 1763 Kingdom of Spain 1763 -- 1802 French First Republic 1802 -- 1803 United States of America 1803 -- 1861 Republic of Louisiana 1861 Confederate States of America 1861 -- 1862 United States of America 1862 -- present La Nouvelle - Orléans ( New Orleans ) was founded in Spring of 1718 ( 7 May has become the traditional date to mark the anniversary, but the actual day is unknown ) by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean - Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time. His title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris ( 1763 ). During the American Revolutionary War, New Orleans was an important port for smuggling aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi River. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez successfully launched a southern campaign against the British from the city in 1779. Nueva Orleans ( the name of New Orleans in Spanish ) remained under Spanish control until 1803, when it reverted briefly to French rule. Nearly all of the surviving 18th - century architecture of the Vieux Carré ( French Quarter ) dates from the Spanish period, notably excepting the Old Ursuline Convent. United States Territory Napoleon sold Louisiana ( New France ) to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Thereafter, the city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, Creoles and Africans. Later immigrants were Irish, Germans and Italians. Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on nearby large plantations. Thousands of refugees from the 1804 Haitian Revolution, both whites and free people of color ( affranchis or gens de couleur libres ), arrived in New Orleans, often accompanied by slaves of African descent. While Governor Claiborne and other officials wanted to keep out additional free black people, the French Creoles wanted to increase the French - speaking population. As more refugees were allowed into the Territory of Orleans, Haitian émigrés who had first gone to Cuba also arrived. Many of the white Francophones had been deported by officials in Cuba in retaliation for Bonapartist schemes. Nearly 90 percent of these immigrants settled in New Orleans. The 1809 migration brought 2,731 whites ; 3,102 free persons of African descent ; and 3,226 slaves of African descent, doubling the city 's population. The city became 63 percent black, a greater proportion than Charleston, South Carolina 's 53 percent. Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans ( 1815 ) During the final campaign of the War of 1812, the British sent a force of 11,000 in an attempt to capture New Orleans. Despite great challenges, General Andrew Jackson, with support from the U.S. Navy, successfully cobbled together a force of militia from Louisiana and Mississippi, including free men of color, U.S. Army regulars, a large contingent of Tennessee state militia, Kentucky riflemen, Choctaw fighters and local privateers ( the latter led by the pirate Jean Lafitte ), to decisively defeat the British troops, led by Sir Edward Pakenham, in the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. The armies had not learned of the Treaty of Ghent that had been signed on December 24, 1814 ( however, the treaty did not call for cessation of hostilities until after both governments had ratified it. The U.S. government ratified it on February 16, 1815 ). The fighting in Louisiana had begun in December 1814 and did not end until late January, after the Americans held off the British Navy during a ten - day siege of Fort St. Philip ( the Royal Navy went on to capture Fort Bowyer near Mobile, before the commanders received news of the peace treaty ). Port Mississippi River steamboats at New Orleans, 1853 As a port, New Orleans played a major role during the antebellum era in the Atlantic slave trade. The port handled commodities for export from the interior and imported goods from other countries, which were warehoused and transferred in New Orleans to smaller vessels and distributed along the Mississippi River watershed. The river was filled with steamboats, flatboats and sailing ships. Despite its role in the slave trade, New Orleans at the time had the largest and most prosperous community of free persons of color in the nation, who were often educated, middle - class property owners. Slavery and immigration Dwarfing the other cities in the antebellum South, New Orleans had the nation 's largest slave market. The market expanded after the U.S. ended the international trade in 1808. Two - thirds of the more than one million slaves brought to the Deep South arrived via forced migration in the domestic slave trade. The money generated by the sale of slaves in the Upper South has been estimated at 15 percent of the value of the staple crop economy. The slaves were collectively valued at half a billion dollars. An ancillary economy grew up around the trade -- for transportation, housing and clothing, fees, etc., estimated at 13.5 % of the price per person, amounting to tens of billions of dollars ( 2005 dollars, adjusted for inflation ) during the antebellum period, with New Orleans as a prime beneficiary. According to historian Paul Lachance, `` the addition of white immigrants ( from Saint - Domingue ) to the white creole population enabled French - speakers to remain a majority of the white population until almost 1830. If a substantial proportion of free persons of color and slaves had not also spoken French, however, the Gallic community would have become a minority of the total population as early as 1820. '' After the Louisiana Purchase, numerous Anglo - Americans migrated to the city. The population doubled in the 1830s and by 1840, New Orleans had become the nation 's wealthiest and the third-most populous city. German and Irish immigrants began arriving in the 1840s, working as port laborers. In this period, the state legislature passed more restrictions on manumissions of slaves and virtually ended it in 1852. In the 1850s, white Francophones remained an intact and vibrant community. They maintained instruction in French in two of the city 's four school districts ( all were white ). In 1860, the city had 13,000 free people of color ( gens de couleur libres ), the class of free, mostly mixed - race people that expanded during French and Spanish rule. The census recorded 81 percent as mulatto, a term used to cover all degrees of mixed race. Mostly part of the Francophone group, they constituted the artisan, educated and professional class of African Americans. Most blacks were still enslaved, working at the port, in domestic service, in crafts, and mostly on the many large, surrounding sugarcane plantations. After growing by 45 percent in the 1850s, by 1860, the city had nearly 170,000 people. It had grown in wealth, with a `` per capita income ( that ) was second in the nation and the highest in the South. '' The city had a role as the `` primary commercial gateway for the nation 's booming mid-section. '' The port was the nation 's third largest in terms of tonnage of imported goods, after Boston and New York, handling 659,000 tons in 1859. Civil War See also : New Orleans in the American Civil War The starving people of New Orleans under Union occupation during the Civil War, 1862 As the Creole elite feared, the Civil War changed their world. In 1862, following the occupation by the Navy after the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, led by Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, a respected state lawyer of the Massachusetts militia, Northern forces occupied the city. Later New Orleans residents nicknamed him `` Beast '' Butler, because of a military order he issued. After his troops had been assaulted and harassed in the streets by Southern women, his order warned that future such occurrences would result in his men treating such `` ladies '' as those `` plying their avocation in the streets '', implying that they would treat the women like prostitutes. Accounts of this spread widely. He also came to be called `` Spoons '' Butler because of the alleged looting that his troops did while occupying the city. Butler abolished French language instruction in city schools. Statewide measures in 1864 and, after the war, 1868 further strengthened the English - only policy imposed by federal representatives. With the predominance of English speakers, that language had already become dominant in business and government. By the end of the 19th century, French usage had faded. It was also under pressure from Irish, Italian and German immigrants. However, as late as 1902 `` one - fourth of the population of the city spoke French in ordinary daily intercourse, while another two - fourths was able to understand the language perfectly, '' and as late as 1945, many elderly Creole women spoke no English. The last major French language newspaper, L'Abeille de la Nouvelle - Orléans ( New Orleans Bee ), ceased publication on December 27, 1923, after ninety - six years. ( According to some sources, Le Courrier de la Nouvelle Orleans continued until 1955. ) As the city was captured and occupied early in the war, it was spared the destruction through warfare suffered by many other cities of the American South. The Union Army eventually extended its control north along the Mississippi River and along the coastal areas. As a result, most of the southern portion of Louisiana was originally exempted from the liberating provisions of the 1863 `` Emancipation Proclamation '' issued by President Abraham Lincoln. Large numbers of rural ex-slaves and some free people of color from the city volunteered for the first regiments of Black troops in the War. Led by Brigadier General Daniel Ullman ( 1810 -- 1892 ), of the 78th Regiment of New York State Volunteers Militia, they were known as the `` Corps d'Afrique. '' While that name had been used by a militia before the war, that group was composed of free people of color. The new group was made up mostly of former slaves. They were supplemented in the last two years of the War by newly organized United States Colored Troops, who played an increasingly important part in the war. Reconstruction Violence throughout the South, especially the Memphis Riots of 1866 followed by the New Orleans Riot in the same year, led Congress to pass the Reconstruction Act and the Fourteenth Amendment, extending the protections of full citizenship to freedmen and free people of color. Louisiana and Texas were put under the authority of the `` Fifth Military District '' of the United States during Reconstruction. Louisiana was readmitted to the Union in 1868. Its Constitution of 1868 granted universal male suffrage and established universal public education. Both blacks and whites were elected to local and state offices. In 1872, lieutenant governor P.B.S. Pinchback, who was of mixed race, succeeded Henry Clay Warmouth for a brief period as Republican governor of Louisiana, becoming the first governor of African descent of an American state ( the next African American to serve as governor of an American state was Douglas Wilder, elected in Virginia in 1989 ). New Orleans operated a racially - integrated public school system during this period. Wartime damage to levees and cities along the Mississippi River adversely affected southern crops and trade. The federal government contributed to restoring infrastructure. The nationwide financial recession and Panic of 1873 adversely affected businesses and slowed economic recovery. From 1868, elections in Louisiana were marked by violence, as white insurgents tried to suppress black voting and disrupt Republican Party gatherings. Violence continued around elections. The disputed 1872 gubernatorial election resulted in conflicts that ran for years. The `` White League '', an insurgent paramilitary group that supported the Democratic Party, was organized in 1874 and operated in the open, violently suppressing the black vote and running off Republican officeholders. In 1874, in the Battle of Liberty Place, 5,000 members of the White League fought with city police to take over the state offices for the Democratic candidate for governor, holding them for three days. By 1876, such tactics resulted in the white Democrats, the so - called Redeemers, regaining political control of the state legislature. The federal government gave up and withdrew its troops in 1877, ending Reconstruction. Jim Crow era White Democrats passed Jim Crow laws, establishing racial segregation in public facilities. In 1889, the legislature passed a constitutional amendment incorporating a `` grandfather clause '' that effectively disfranchised freedmen as well as the propertied people of color manumitted before the war. Unable to vote, African Americans could not serve on juries or in local office, and were closed out of formal politics for generations. The South was ruled by a white Democratic Party. Public schools were racially segregated and remained so until 1960. New Orleans ' large community of well - educated, often French - speaking free persons of color ( gens de couleur libres ), who had been free prior to the Civil War, fought against Jim Crow. They organized the Comité des Citoyens ( Citizens Committee ) to work for civil rights. As part of their legal campaign, they recruited one of their own, Homer Plessy, to test whether Louisiana 's newly enacted Separate Car Act was constitutional. Plessy boarded a commuter train departing New Orleans for Covington, Louisiana, sat in the car reserved for whites only, and was arrested. The case resulting from this incident, Plessy v. Ferguson, was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896. The court ruled that `` separate but equal '' accommodations were constitutional, effectively upholding Jim Crow measures. In practice, African - American public schools and facilities were underfunded across the South. The Supreme Court ruling contributed to this period as the nadir of race relations in the United States. The rate of lynchings of black men was high across the South, as other states also disfranchised blacks and sought to impose Jim Crow. Anti-Italian sentiment in 1891 contributed to the lynchings of 11 Italians, some of whom had been acquitted of the murder of the police chief. Some were shot and killed in the jail where they were detained. It was the largest mass lynching in U.S. history. In July 1900 the city was swept by white mobs rioting after Robert Charles, a young African American, killed a policeman and temporarily escaped. They killed him and an estimated 20 other blacks ; seven whites died in the days - long conflict, until a state militia suppressed it. Throughout New Orleans ' history, until the early 20th century when medical and scientific advances ameliorated the situation, the city suffered repeated epidemics of yellow fever and other tropical and infectious diseases. 20th century Esplanade Avenue at Burgundy Street, looking lakewards north towards Lake Ponchartrain ( 1900 ) 1943 waiting line at wartime Rationing Board office in New Orleans New Orleans ' zenith versus other American cities occurred in the ante - bellum period. It was the nation 's fifth - largest city and was significantly larger than all other southern cities. From the mid-19th century onward rapid economic growth shifted to other areas, while New Orleans ' relative importance steadily declined. The growth of railways and highways decreased river traffic, diverting goods to other transportation corridors and markets. Thousands of the most ambitious people of color left the state in the Great Migration around World War II and after, many for West Coast destinations. From the late 1800s, most censuses recorded New Orleans ' decline versus other American cities. By the mid-20th century, New Orleanians recognized that their city was no longer the leading urban area in the South. By 1950, Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta exceeded New Orleans in size, and in 1960 Miami eclipsed New Orleans, even as the latter 's population reached its historic peak. As with other older American cities, highway construction and suburban development drew residents from the center city to newer housing outside. The 1970 census recorded the first absolute decline in population since it joined the United States. The New Orleans metropolitan area continued expanding in population, albeit more slowly than other major Sun Belt cities. While the port remained one of the nation 's largest, automation and containerization cost many jobs. The city 's former role as banker to the South was supplanted by larger peer cities. New Orleans ' economy had always been based more on trade and financial services than on manufacturing, but the city 's relatively small manufacturing sector also shrank after World War II. Despite some economic development successes under the administrations of DeLesseps `` Chep '' Morrison ( 1946 -- 1961 ) and Victor `` Vic '' Schiro ( 1961 -- 1970 ), metropolitan New Orleans ' growth rate consistently lagged behind more vigorous cities. Civil Rights Movement During the later years of Morrison 's administration, and for the entirety of Schiro 's, the city was a center of the Civil Rights Movement. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was founded there, and lunch counter sit - ins were held in Canal Street department stores. A prominent and violent series of confrontations occurred in 1960 when the city attempted school desegregation, following the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education ( 1954 ). When six - year - old Ruby Bridges integrated William Frantz Elementary School in the Ninth Ward, she was the first child of color to attend a previously all - white school in the South. The Civil Rights Movement 's success in gaining federal passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 renewed constitutional rights, including voting for blacks. Together, these resulted in the most far - reaching changes in New Orleans ' 20th century history. Though legal and civil equality were re-established by the end of the 1960s, a large gap in income levels and educational attainment persisted between the city 's White and African - American communities. As the middle class and wealthier members of both races left the center city, its population 's income level dropped, and it became proportionately more African American. From 1980, the African - American majority elected primarily officials from its own community. They struggled to narrow the gap by creating conditions conducive to the economic uplift of the African - American community. New Orleans became increasingly dependent on tourism as an economic mainstay during the administrations of Sidney Barthelemy ( 1986 -- 1994 ) and Marc Morial ( 1994 -- 2002 ). Relatively low levels of educational attainment, high rates of household poverty, and rising crime threatened the prosperity in the later decades of the century. The negative effects of these socioeconomic conditions contrasted with the changes to the economy of the United States, which reflected a post-industrial, knowledge - based paradigm in which mental skills and education were more important to advancement than manual skills. Drainage and flood control See also : Drainage in New Orleans A view of the New Orleans Central Business District as seen from the Mississippi River. USS New Orleans ( LPD - 18 ) in foreground ( 2007 ) In the 20th century, New Orleans ' government and business leaders believed they needed to drain and develop outlying areas to provide for the city 's expansion. The most ambitious development during this period was a drainage plan devised by engineer and inventor A. Baldwin Wood, designed to break the surrounding swamp 's stranglehold on the city 's geographic expansion. Until then, urban development in New Orleans was largely limited to higher ground along the natural river levees and bayous. Wood 's pump system allowed the city to drain huge tracts of swamp and marshland and expand into low - lying areas. Over the 20th century, rapid subsidence, both natural and human - induced, resulted in these newly populated areas declining to several feet below sea level. New Orleans was vulnerable to flooding even before the city 's footprint departed from the natural high ground near the Mississippi River. In the late 20th century, however, scientists and New Orleans residents gradually became aware of the city 's increased vulnerability. In 1965, flooding from Hurricane Betsy killed dozens of residents, although the majority of the city remained dry. The rain - induced flood of May 8, 1995, demonstrated the weakness of the pumping system. After that event, measures were undertaken to dramatically upgrade pumping capacity. By the 1980s and 1990s, scientists observed that extensive, rapid, and ongoing erosion of the marshlands and swamp surrounding New Orleans, especially that related to the Mississippi River -- Gulf Outlet Canal, had the unintended result of leaving the city more vulnerable to hurricane - induced catastrophic storm surges than before. 21st century Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina at its New Orleans landfall. See also : Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Drainage in New Orleans New Orleans was catastrophically affected by what Raymond B. Seed called `` the worst engineering disaster in the world since Chernobyl '', when the Federal levee system failed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. By the time the hurricane approached the city at the end of August 2005, most residents had evacuated. As the hurricane passed through the Gulf Coast region, the city 's federal flood protection system failed, resulting in the worst civil engineering disaster in American history. Floodwalls and levees constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers failed below design specifications and 80 % of the city flooded. Tens of thousands of residents who had remained were rescued or otherwise made their way to shelters of last resort at the Louisiana Superdome or the New Orleans Morial Convention Center. More than 1,500 people were recorded as having died in Louisiana, most in New Orleans, while others remain unaccounted for. Before Hurricane Katrina, the city called for the first mandatory evacuation in its history, to be followed by another mandatory evacuation three years later with Hurricane Gustav. Hurricane Rita Main article : Hurricane Rita The city was declared off - limits to residents while efforts to clean up after Hurricane Katrina began. The approach of Hurricane Rita in September 2005 caused repopulation efforts to be postponed, and the Lower Ninth Ward was reflooded by Rita 's storm surge. Post-disaster Recovery Main article : Reconstruction of New Orleans An aerial view from a United States Navy helicopter showing floodwaters around the Louisiana Superdome ( stadium ) and surrounding area ( 2005 ). Because of the scale of damage, many people resettled permanently outside the area. Federal, state, and local efforts supported recovery and rebuilding in severely damaged neighborhoods. The Census Bureau in July 2006 estimated the population to be 223,000 ; a subsequent study estimated that 32,000 additional residents had moved to the city as of March 2007, bringing the estimated population to 255,000, approximately 56 % of the pre-Katrina population level. Another estimate, based on utility usage from July 2007, estimated the population to be approximately 274,000 or 60 % of the pre-Katrina population. These estimates are somewhat smaller to a third estimate, based on mail delivery records, from the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center in June 2007, which indicated that the city had regained approximately two - thirds of its pre-Katrina population. In 2008, the Census Bureau revised its population estimate for the city upward, to 336,644. Most recently, 2010 estimates show that neighborhoods that did not flood are near or greater than 100 % of their pre-Katrina populations. Several major tourist events and other forms of revenue for the city have returned. Large conventions returned. College bowl games returned for the 2006 -- 2007 season. The New Orleans Saints returned that season. The New Orleans Hornets ( now named the Pelicans ) returned to the city for the 2007 -- 2008 season. New Orleans hosted the 2008 NBA All - Star Game. Additionally, the city hosted Super Bowl XLVII. Major annual events such as Mardi Gras and the Jazz & Heritage Festival were never displaced or canceled. A new annual festival, `` The Running of the Bulls New Orleans '', was created in 2007. On February 7, 2017, a large EF3 wedge tornado hit parts of the eastern side of the city, damaging homes and other buildings, as well as destroying a mobile home park. At least 25 people were left injured by the event. Geography A true - color satellite image taken on NASA 's Landsat 7 New Orleans is located in the Mississippi River Delta, south of Lake Pontchartrain, on the banks of the Mississippi River, approximately 105 miles ( 169 km ) upriver from the Gulf of Mexico. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city 's area is 350 square miles ( 910 km ), of which 169 square miles ( 440 km ) is land and 181 square miles ( 470 km ) ( 52 % ) is water. Orleans Parish is the smallest parish by land area in Louisiana. The area along the river is characterized by ridges and hollows. Elevation See also : Drainage in New Orleans Vertical cross-section, showing maximum levee height of 23 feet ( 7.0 m ) New Orleans was originally settled on the river 's natural levees or high ground. After the Flood Control Act of 1965, the US Army Corps of Engineers built floodwalls and man - made levees around a much larger geographic footprint that included previous marshland and swamp. Over time, pumping of water from marshland allowed for development into lower elevation areas. Today, a large portion of the city is at or below local mean sea level. Evidence suggests that portions of the city may be dropping in elevation due to subsidence Being that the motion of the earth 's surface is shifting downwards relative to sea level. A 2007 study by Tulane and Xavier University suggested that `` 51 %... of the contiguous urbanized portions of Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Bernard parishes lie at or above sea level, '' with the more densely populated areas generally on higher ground. The average elevation of the city is currently between 1 foot ( 0.30 m ) and 2 feet ( 0.61 m ) below sea level, with some portions of the city as high as 20 feet ( 6 m ) at the base of the river levee in Uptown and others as low as 7 feet ( 2 m ) below sea level in the farthest reaches of Eastern New Orleans. A study published by the ASCE Journal of Hydrologic Engineering in 2016, however, stated : ``... most of New Orleans proper -- about 65 % -- is at or below mean sea level, as defined by the average elevation of Lake Pontchartrain '' The magnitude of subsidence potentially caused by the draining of natural marsh in the New Orleans area and southeast Louisiana is a topic of debate. A study published in Geology in 2006 by an associate professor at Tulane University claims : `` While erosion and wetland loss are huge problems along Louisiana 's coast, the basement 30 feet ( 9.1 m ) to 50 feet ( 15 m ) beneath much of the Mississippi Delta has been highly stable for the past 8,000 years with negligible subsidence rates. '' The study noted, however, that the results did not necessarily apply to the Mississippi River Delta, nor the New Orleans Metropolitan area proper. On the other hand, a report by the American Society of Civil Engineers claims that `` New Orleans is subsiding ( sinking ) '' : `` Large portions of Orleans, St. Bernard, and Jefferson parishes are currently below sea level -- and continue to sink. New Orleans is built on thousands of feet of soft sand, silt, and clay. Subsidence, or settling of the ground surface, occurs naturally due to the consolidation and oxidation of organic soils ( called `` marsh '' in New Orleans ) and local groundwater pumping. In the past, flooding and deposition of sediments from the Mississippi River counterbalanced the natural subsidence, leaving southeast Louisiana at or above sea level. However, due to major flood control structures being built upstream on the Mississippi River and levees being built around New Orleans, fresh layers of sediment are not replenishing the ground lost by subsidence. '' In May 2016, NASA published a study which suggested that most areas were, in fact, experiencing subsidence at a `` highly variable rate '' which was `` generally consistent with, but somewhat higher than, previous studies. '' Cityscape See also : Wards of New Orleans and Neighborhoods in New Orleans Bourbon Street, New Orleans, in 2003, looking towards Canal Street New Orleans contains many distinctive neighborhoods. The Central Business District is located immediately north and west of the Mississippi and was historically called the `` American Quarter '' or `` American Sector. '' It was developed after the heart of French and Spanish settlement. It includes Lafayette Square. Most streets in this area fan out from a central point. Major streets include Canal Street, Poydras Street, Tulane Avenue and Loyola Avenue. Canal Street divides the traditional `` downtown '' area from the `` uptown '' area. Every street crossing Canal Street between the Mississippi River and Rampart Street, which is the northern edge of the French Quarter, has a different name for the `` uptown '' and `` downtown '' portions. For example, St. Charles Avenue, known for its street car line, is called Royal Street below Canal Street, though where it traverses the Central Business District between Canal and Lee Circle, it is properly called St. Charles Street. Elsewhere in the city, Canal Street serves as the dividing point between the `` South '' and `` North '' portions of various streets. In the local parlance downtown means `` downriver from Canal Street '', while uptown means `` upriver from Canal Street ''. Downtown neighborhoods include the French Quarter, Tremé, the 7th Ward, Faubourg Marigny, Bywater ( the Upper Ninth Ward ), and the Lower Ninth Ward. Uptown neighborhoods include the Warehouse District, the Lower Garden District, the Garden District, the Irish Channel, the University District, Carrollton, Gert Town, Fontainebleau and Broadmoor. However, the Warehouse and the Central Business District are frequently called `` Downtown '' as a specific region, as in the Downtown Development District. Other major districts within the city include Bayou St. John, Mid-City, Gentilly, Lakeview, Lakefront, New Orleans East and Algiers. Historic and residential architecture See also : Buildings and architecture of New Orleans New Orleans is world - famous for its abundance of architectural styles that reflect the city 's multicultural heritage. Though New Orleans possesses numerous structures of national architectural significance, it is equally, if not more, revered for its enormous, largely intact ( even post-Katrina ) historic built environment. Twenty National Register Historic Districts have been established, and fourteen local historic districts aid in preservation. Thirteen of the districts are administered by the New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission ( HDLC ), while one -- the French Quarter -- is administered by the Vieux Carre Commission ( VCC ). Additionally, both the National Park Service, via the National Register of Historic Places, and the HDLC have landmarked individual buildings, many of which lie outside the boundaries of existing historic districts. Housing styles include the shotgun house and the bungalow style. Creole cottages and townhouses, notable for their large courtyards and intricate iron balconies, line the streets of the French Quarter. American townhouses, double - gallery houses, and Raised Center - Hall Cottages are notable. St. Charles Avenue is famed for its large antebellum homes. Its mansions are in various styles, such as Greek Revival, American Colonial and the Victorian styles of Queen Anne and Italianate architecture. New Orleans is also noted for its large, European - style Catholic cemeteries. Tallest buildings See also : List of tallest buildings in New Orleans Pictured in the New Orleans skyline is One Shell Square ( towards left ), New Orleans ' tallest building, standing at 697 ft ( 212 m ) ) as well as Place St. Charles, Plaza Tower, First Bank and Trust Tower, and Energy Centre. For much of its history, New Orleans ' skyline displayed only low - and mid - rise structures. The soft soils are susceptible to subsidence, and there was doubt about the feasibility of constructing high rises. Developments in engineering throughout the twentieth century eventually made it possible to build sturdy foundations to underlie high rises. In the 1960s, the World Trade Center New Orleans and Plaza Tower demonstrated skyscrapers ' viability. One Shell Square became the city 's tallest building in 1972. The oil boom of the 1970s and early 1980s redefined New Orleans ' skyline with the development of the Poydras Street corridor. Most are clustered along Canal Street and Poydras Street in the Central Business District. Name Stories Height One Shell Square 51 697 ft ( 212 m ) Place St. Charles 53 645 ft ( 197 m ) Plaza Tower 45 531 ft ( 162 m ) Energy Centre 39 530 ft ( 160 m ) First Bank and Trust Tower 36 481 ft ( 147 m ) Climate See also : Hurricane preparedness for New Orleans Climate data for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport ( 1981 -- 2010 normals, extremes 1946 -- present ) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high ° F ( ° C ) 83 ( 28 ) 85 ( 29 ) 89 ( 32 ) 92 ( 33 ) 96 ( 36 ) 101 ( 38 ) 101 ( 38 ) 102 ( 39 ) 101 ( 38 ) 94 ( 34 ) 87 ( 31 ) 84 ( 29 ) 102 ( 39 ) Mean maximum ° F ( ° C ) 77.2 ( 25.1 ) 78.9 ( 26.1 ) 82.3 ( 27.9 ) 86.7 ( 30.4 ) 91.5 ( 33.1 ) 94.5 ( 34.7 ) 96.0 ( 35.6 ) 96.4 ( 35.8 ) 93.5 ( 34.2 ) 89.0 ( 31.7 ) 83.7 ( 28.7 ) 79.7 ( 26.5 ) 97.3 ( 36.3 ) Average high ° F ( ° C ) 62.1 ( 16.7 ) 65.4 ( 18.6 ) 71.8 ( 22.1 ) 78.2 ( 25.7 ) 85.2 ( 29.6 ) 89.5 ( 31.9 ) 91.2 ( 32.9 ) 91.2 ( 32.9 ) 87.5 ( 30.8 ) 80.0 ( 26.7 ) 71.8 ( 22.1 ) 64.4 ( 18 ) 78.2 ( 25.7 ) Daily mean ° F ( ° C ) 53.4 ( 11.9 ) 56.7 ( 13.7 ) 62.7 ( 17.1 ) 69.1 ( 20.6 ) 76.7 ( 24.8 ) 81.5 ( 27.5 ) 83.3 ( 28.5 ) 83.3 ( 28.5 ) 79.8 ( 26.6 ) 71.3 ( 21.8 ) 62.7 ( 17.1 ) 55.7 ( 13.2 ) 69.7 ( 20.9 ) Average low ° F ( ° C ) 44.7 ( 7.1 ) 48.0 ( 8.9 ) 53.5 ( 11.9 ) 60.0 ( 15.6 ) 68.1 ( 20.1 ) 73.5 ( 23.1 ) 75.3 ( 24.1 ) 75.3 ( 24.1 ) 72.0 ( 22.2 ) 62.6 ( 17 ) 53.5 ( 11.9 ) 46.9 ( 8.3 ) 61.2 ( 16.2 ) Mean minimum ° F ( ° C ) 27.6 ( − 2.4 ) 31.3 ( − 0.4 ) 36.8 ( 2.7 ) 44.6 ( 7 ) 56.0 ( 13.3 ) 65.7 ( 18.7 ) 69.9 ( 21.1 ) 70.0 ( 21.1 ) 60.6 ( 15.9 ) 45.6 ( 7.6 ) 37.6 ( 3.1 ) 29.6 ( − 1.3 ) 24.6 ( − 4.1 ) Record low ° F ( ° C ) 14 ( − 10 ) 16 ( − 9 ) 25 ( − 4 ) 32 ( 0 ) 41 ( 5 ) 50 ( 10 ) 60 ( 16 ) 60 ( 16 ) 42 ( 6 ) 35 ( 2 ) 24 ( − 4 ) 11 ( − 12 ) 11 ( − 12 ) Average precipitation inches ( mm ) 5.15 ( 130.8 ) 5.30 ( 134.6 ) 4.55 ( 115.6 ) 4.61 ( 117.1 ) 4.63 ( 117.6 ) 8.06 ( 204.7 ) 5.93 ( 150.6 ) 5.98 ( 151.9 ) 4.97 ( 126.2 ) 3.54 ( 89.9 ) 4.49 ( 114 ) 5.24 ( 133.1 ) 62.45 ( 1,586.2 ) Average precipitation days ( ≥ 0.01 in ) 9.3 8.8 8.3 6.9 7.7 12.9 13.6 13.1 9.4 7.7 7.9 9.2 114.8 Average relative humidity ( % ) 75.6 73.0 72.9 73.4 74.4 76.4 79.2 79.4 77.8 74.9 77.2 76.9 75.9 Mean monthly sunshine hours 153.0 161.5 219.4 251.9 278.9 274.3 257.1 251.9 228.7 242.6 171.8 157.8 2,648.9 Percent possible sunshine 47 52 59 65 66 65 60 62 62 68 54 50 60 Source : NOAA ( relative humidity and sun 1961 -- 1990 ) Climate data for Audubon Park, New Orleans ( extremes 1893 -- present ) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high ° F ( ° C ) 84 ( 29 ) 85 ( 29 ) 91 ( 33 ) 93 ( 34 ) 99 ( 37 ) 104 ( 40 ) 102 ( 39 ) 103 ( 39 ) 101 ( 38 ) 97 ( 36 ) 92 ( 33 ) 85 ( 29 ) 104 ( 40 ) Record low ° F ( ° C ) 13 ( − 11 ) 6 ( − 14 ) 26 ( − 3 ) 32 ( 0 ) 46 ( 8 ) 54 ( 12 ) 61 ( 16 ) 60 ( 16 ) 49 ( 9 ) 35 ( 2 ) 26 ( − 3 ) 12 ( − 11 ) 6 ( − 14 ) Source : NOAA The climate is humid subtropical ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ), with short, generally mild winters and hot, humid summers ; most suburbs and parts of Wards 9 and 15 fall in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 9a, while the city 's other 15 wards are rated 9b in whole. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 53.4 ° F ( 11.9 ° C ) in January to 83.3 ° F ( 28.5 ° C ) in July and August. Officially, as measured at New Orleans International Airport, temperature records range from 11 to 102 ° F ( − 12 to 39 ° C ) on December 23, 1989 and August 22, 1980, respectively ; Audubon Park has recorded temperatures ranging from 6 ° F ( − 14 ° C ) on February 13, 1899 up to 104 ° F ( 40 ° C ) on June 24, 2009. Dewpoints in the summer months ( June -- August ) are relatively high, ranging from 71.1 to 73.4 ° F ( 21.7 to 23.0 ° C ). Snow falls on St. Charles Avenue in December 2008. The average precipitation is 62.5 inches ( 1,590 mm ) annually ; the summer months are the wettest, while October is the driest month. Precipitation in winter usually accompanies the passing of a cold front. On average, there are 77 days of 90 ° F ( 32 ° C ) + highs, 8.1 days per winter where the high does not exceed 50 ° F ( 10 ° C ), and 8.0 nights with freezing lows annually. It is rare for the temperature to reach 20 or 100 ° F ( − 7 or 38 ° C ), with the last occurrence of each being February 5, 1996 and June 26, 2016, respectively. New Orleans experiences snowfall only on rare occasions. A small amount of snow fell during the 2004 Christmas Eve Snowstorm and again on Christmas ( December 25 ) when a combination of rain, sleet, and snow fell on the city, leaving some bridges icy. The New Year 's Eve 1963 snowstorm affected New Orleans and brought 4.5 inches ( 11 cm ). Snow fell again on December 22, 1989, when most of the city received 1 -- 2 inches ( 2.5 -- 5.1 cm ). The last significant snowfall in New Orleans was on the morning of December 11, 2008. Threat from tropical cyclones Hurricanes of Category 3 or greater passing within 100 miles 1852 -- 2005 ( NOAA ) Hurricanes pose a severe threat to the area, and the city is particularly at risk because of its low elevation, because it is surrounded by water from the north, east, and south and because of Louisiana 's sinking coast. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, New Orleans is the nation 's most vulnerable city to hurricanes. Indeed, portions of Greater New Orleans have been flooded by the Grand Isle Hurricane of 1909, the New Orleans Hurricane of 1915, 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane, Hurricane Flossy in 1956, Hurricane Betsy in 1965, Hurricane Georges in 1998, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and Hurricane Gustav in 2008, with the flooding in Betsy being significant and in a few neighborhoods severe, and that in Katrina being disastrous in the majority of the city. In 2005, storm surge from Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic failure of the federally designed and built levees, flooding 80 % of the city. A report by the American Society of Civil Engineers says that `` had the levees and floodwalls not failed and had the pump stations operated, nearly two - thirds of the deaths would not have occurred ''. New Orleans has always had to consider the risk of hurricanes, but the risks are dramatically greater today due to coastal erosion from human interference. Since the beginning of the 20th century, it has been estimated that Louisiana has lost 2,000 square miles ( 5,000 km ) of coast ( including many of its barrier islands ), which once protected New Orleans against storm surge. Following Hurricane Katrina, the Army Corps of Engineers has instituted massive levee repair and hurricane protection measures to protect the city. In 2006, Louisiana voters overwhelmingly adopted an amendment to the state 's constitution to dedicate all revenues from off - shore drilling to restore Louisiana 's eroding coast line. Congress has allocated $7 billion to bolster New Orleans ' flood protection. According to a study by the National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council, levees and floodwalls surrounding New Orleans -- no matter how large or sturdy -- can not provide absolute protection against overtopping or failure in extreme events. Levees and floodwalls should be viewed as a way to reduce risks from hurricanes and storm surges, not as measures that completely eliminate risk. For structures in hazardous areas and residents who do not relocate, the committee recommended major floodproofing measures -- such as elevating the first floor of buildings to at least the 100 - year flood level. Demographics Historical population Year Pop. ± % 1769 3,190 -- 1785 4,980 + 56.1 % 1788 5,331 + 7.0 % 1797 8,056 + 51.1 % 1810 17,242 + 114.0 % 1820 27,176 + 57.6 % 1830 46,082 + 69.6 % 1840 102,193 + 121.8 % 1850 116,375 + 13.9 % 1860 168,675 + 44.9 % 1870 191,418 + 13.5 % 1880 216,090 + 12.9 % 1890 242,039 + 12.0 % 1900 287,104 + 18.6 % 1910 339,075 + 18.1 % 1920 387,219 + 14.2 % 1930 458,762 + 18.5 % 1940 494,537 + 7.8 % 1950 570,445 + 15.3 % 1960 627,525 + 10.0 % 1970 593,471 − 5.4 % 1980 557,515 − 6.1 % 1990 496,938 − 10.9 % 2000 484,674 − 2.5 % 343,829 − 29.1 % 2016 391,495 + 13.9 % Population given for the City of New Orleans, not for Orleans Parish, before New Orleans absorbed suburbs and rural areas of Orleans Parish in 1874. Population for Orleans Parish was 41,351 in 1820 ; 49,826 in 1830 ; 102,193 in 1840 ; 119,460 in 1850 ; 174,491 in 1860 ; and 191,418 in 1870. Historical Population Figures U.S. Decennial Census 1790 -- 1960 1900 -- 1990 1990 -- 2000 2010 -- 2013 Source : U.S. Decennial Census According to the 2010 Census, 343,829 people and 189,896 households lived in New Orleans. Its racial and ethnic makeup was 60.2 % African American, 33.0 % White, 2.9 % Asian ( 1.7 % Vietnamese, 0.3 % Indian, 0.3 % Chinese, 0.1 % Filipino, 0.1 % Korean ), 0.0 % Pacific Islander, and 1.7 % were people of two or more races. People of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 5.3 % of the population ; 1.3 % is Mexican, 1.3 % Honduran, 0.4 % Cuban, 0.3 % Puerto Rican, and 0.3 % Nicaraguan. Map of racial distribution in New Orleans, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people : White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, or Other ( yellow ) The last population estimate before Hurricane Katrina was 454,865, as of July 1, 2005. A population analysis released in August 2007 estimated the population to be 273,000, 60 % of the pre-Katrina population and an increase of about 50,000 since July 2006. A September 2007 report by The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center, which tracks population based on U.S. Postal Service figures, found that in August 2007, just over 137,000 households received mail. That compares with about 198,000 households in July 2005, representing about 70 % of pre-Katrina population. More recently, the Census Bureau revised upward its 2008 population estimate for the city, to 336,644 inhabitants. In 2010, estimates showed that neighborhoods that did not flood were near or even greater than 100 % of their pre-Katrina populations. A 2006 study by researchers at Tulane University and the University of California, Berkeley determined that as many as 10,000 to 14,000 undocumented immigrants, many from Mexico, resided in New Orleans. Janet Murguía, president and chief executive officer of the National Council of La Raza, stated that up to 120,000 Hispanic workers lived in New Orleans. In June 2007, one study stated that the Hispanic population had risen from 15,000, pre-Katrina, to over 50,000. Racial composition 1990 1970 1940 White 33.0 % 34.9 % 54.5 % 69.7 % -- Non-Hispanic 30.5 % 33.1 % 50.6 % n / a Black or African American 60.2 % 61.9 % 45.0 % 30.1 % Hispanic or Latino ( of any race ) 5.2 % 3.5 % 4.4 % n / a Asian 2.9 % 1.9 % 0.2 % 0.1 % As of 2010, 90.31 % of residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as a primary language, while 4.84 % spoke Spanish, 1.87 % Vietnamese, and 1.05 % spoke French. In total, 9.69 % population age 5 and older spoke a mother language other than English. Religion New Orleans ' colonial history of French and Spanish settlement generated a strong Roman Catholic tradition. Catholic missions ministered to slaves and free people of color and established schools for them. In addition, many late 19th and early 20th century European immigrants, such as the Irish, some Germans, and Italians were Catholic. Within the Archdiocese ( which includes not only the city but the surrounding Parishes as well ), 35.9 % percent of the population is Roman Catholic. Catholicism is reflected in French and Spanish cultural traditions, including its many parochial schools, street names, architecture and festivals, including Mardi Gras. Cathedral - Basilica of St. Louis, King of France New Orleans displays a distinctive variety of Louisiana Voodoo, due in part to syncretism with African and Afro - Caribbean Roman Catholic beliefs. The fame of voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau contributed to this, as did New Orleans ' Caribbean cultural influences. Although the tourism industry strongly associated Voodoo with the city, only a small number of people are serious adherents. Jewish settlers, primarily Sephardim, settled in New Orleans from the early nineteenth century. Some migrated from the communities established in the colonial years in Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. The merchant Abraham Cohen Labatt helped found the first Jewish congregation in New Orleans in the 1830s, which became known as the Portuguese Jewish Nefutzot Yehudah congregation ( he and some other members were Sephardic Jews, whose ancestors had lived in Portugal and Spain ). Ashkenazi Jews from eastern Europe immigrated in the late 19th and 20th centuries. By the 21st century, 10,000 Jews lived in New Orleans. This number dropped to 7,000 after Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans synagogues lost members, but most re-opened in their original locations. The exception was Congregation Beth Israel, the oldest and most prominent Orthodox synagogue in the New Orleans region. Beth Israel 's building in Lakeview was destroyed by flooding. After seven years of holding services in temporary quarters, the congregation consecrated a new synagogue on land purchased from the Reform Congregation Gates of Prayer in Metairie. Ethnic groups See also : Hondurans in New Orleans, Italians in New Orleans, and Vietnamese in New Orleans As of 2011 the Hispanic population had grown in the New Orleans area, including in Kenner, central Metairie, and Terrytown in Jefferson Parish and eastern New Orleans and Mid-City in New Orleans proper. After Katrina the small Brazilian - American population expanded. Portuguese speakers were the second most numerous group to take English as a second language classes in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, after Spanish speakers. Many Brazilians worked in skilled trades such as tile and flooring, although fewer worked as day laborers than did Latinos. Many had moved from Brazilian communities in the Northeastern United States, Florida and Georgia. Brazilians settled throughout the metropolitan area. Most were undocumented. In January 2008 the New Orleans Brazilian population had a mid-range estimate of 3,000. By 2008 Brazilians had opened many small churches, shops and restaurants catering to their community. Changes in population Beginning in 1960, the population decreased due to factors such as the cycles of oil production and tourism, and as suburbanization increased ( as with many cities ), and jobs migrated to surrounding parishes. This economic and population decline resulted in high levels of poverty in the city ; in 1960 it had the fifth - highest poverty rate of all US cities, and was almost twice the national average in 2005, at 24.5 %. New Orleans experienced an increase in residential segregation from 1900 to 1980, leaving the disproportionately African - American poor in older, low - lying locations. These areas were especially susceptible to flood and storm damage. Katrina displaced 800,000 people, contributing significantly to the decline. African Americans, renters, the elderly, and people with low income were disproportionately affected by Katrina, compared to affluent and white residents. In Katrina 's aftermath, city government commissioned groups such as Bring New Orleans Back Commission, the New Orleans Neighborhood Rebuilding Plan, the Unified New Orleans Plan, and the Office of Recovery Management to contribute to plans addressing depopulation. Their ideas included shrinking the city 's footprint from before the storm, incorporating community voices into development plans, and creating green spaces, some of which incited controversy. From 2010 to 2014 the city grew by 12 %, adding an average of more than 10,000 new residents each year following the 2010 Census. Economy A tanker on the Mississippi River in New Orleans Intracoastal Waterway near New Orleans New Orleans operates one of the world 's largest and busiest ports and metropolitan New Orleans is a center of maritime industry. The region accounts for a significant portion of the nation 's oil refining and petrochemical production, and serves as a white - collar corporate base for onshore and offshore petroleum and natural gas production. New Orleans is also a center for higher learning, with over 50,000 students enrolled in the region 's eleven two - and four - year degree - granting institutions. Tulane University, a top - 50 research university, is located in Uptown. Metropolitan New Orleans is a major regional hub for the health care industry and boasts a small, globally competitive manufacturing sector. The center city possesses a rapidly growing, entrepreneurial creative industries sector and is renowned for its cultural tourism. Greater New Orleans, Inc. ( GNO, Inc. ) acts as the first point - of - contact for regional economic development, coordinating between Louisiana 's Department of Economic Development and the various business development agencies. Port New Orleans began as a strategically - located trading entrepôt and it remains, above all, a crucial transportation hub and distribution center for waterborne commerce. The Port is the fifth - largest in the United States based on cargo volume and second - largest in the state after the Port of South Louisiana. It is the twelfth - largest in the U.S. based on cargo value. The Port of South Louisiana, also located in the New Orleans area, is the world 's busiest in terms of bulk tonnage. When combined with Port of New Orleans, it forms the 4th - largest port system in volume. Many shipbuilding, shipping, logistics, freight forwarding and commodity brokerage firms either are based in metropolitan New Orleans or maintain a local presence. Examples include Intermarine, Bisso Towboat, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Trinity Yachts, Expeditors International, Bollinger Shipyards, IMTT, International Coffee Corp, Boasso America, Transoceanic Shipping, Transportation Consultants Inc., Dupuy Storage & Forwarding and Silocaf. The largest coffee - roasting plant in the world, operated by Folgers, is located in New Orleans East. New Orleans is located near to the Gulf of Mexico and its many oil rigs. Louisiana ranks fifth among states in oil production and eighth in reserves. It has two of the four Strategic Petroleum Reserve ( SPR ) storage facilities : West Hackberry in Cameron Parish and Bayou Choctaw in Iberville Parish. The area hosts 17 petroleum refineries, with a combined crude oil distillation capacity of nearly 2.8 million barrels per day ( 450,000 m / d ), the second highest after Texas. Louisiana 's numerous ports include the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port ( LOOP ), which is capable of receiving the largest oil tankers. Given the quantity of oil imports, Louisiana is home to many major pipelines : Crude Oil ( Exxon, Chevron, BP, Texaco, Shell, Scurloch - Permian, Mid-Valley, Calumet, Conoco, Koch Industries, Unocal, U.S. Dept. of Energy, Locap ) ; Product ( TEPPCO Partners, Colonial, Plantation, Explorer, Texaco, Collins ) ; and Liquefied Petroleum Gas ( Dixie, TEPPCO, Black Lake, Koch, Chevron, Dynegy, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, Dow Chemical Company, Bridgeline, FMP, Tejas, Texaco, UTP ). Several energy companies have regional headquarters in the area, including Royal Dutch Shell, Eni and Chevron. Other energy producers and oilfield services companies are headquartered in the city or region, and the sector supports a large professional services base of specialized engineering and design firms, as well as a term office for the federal government 's Minerals Management Service. Business This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2016 ) The city is the home to a single Fortune 500 company : Entergy, a power generation utility and nuclear power plant operations specialist. After Katrina, the city lost its other Fortune 500 company, Freeport - McMoRan, when it merged its copper and gold exploration unit with an Arizona company and relocated that division to Phoenix. Its McMoRan Exploration affiliate remains headquartered in New Orleans. Other companies either headquartered or with significant operations in New Orleans include : Pan American Life Insurance, Pool Corp, Rolls - Royce, Newpark Resources, AT&T, TurboSquid, iSeatz, IBM, Navtech, Superior Energy Services, Textron Marine & Land Systems, McDermott International, Pellerin Milnor, Lockheed Martin, Imperial Trading, Laitram, Harrah 's Entertainment, Stewart Enterprises, Edison Chouest Offshore, Zatarain 's, Waldemar S. Nelson & Co., Whitney National Bank, Capital One, Tidewater Marine, Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, Parsons Brinckerhoff, MWH Global, CH2M HILL, Energy Partners Ltd, The Receivables Exchange, GE Capital and Smoothie King. Tourist and Convention Business Tourism is another staple of the city 's economy. Perhaps more visible than any other sector, New Orleans ' tourist and convention industry is a $5.5 billion industry that accounts for 40 percent of city tax revenues. In 2004, the hospitality industry employed 85,000 people, making it the city 's top economic sector as measured by employment. New Orleans also hosts the World Cultural Economic Forum ( WCEF ). The forum, held annually at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center, is directed toward promoting cultural and economic development opportunities through the strategic convening of cultural ambassadors and leaders from around the world. The first WCEF took place in October 2008. Other Federal agencies and the Armed forces operate significant facilities there. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals operates at the US Courthouse downtown. NASA 's Michoud rocket factory is located in New Orleans East and is operated by Lockheed Martin. It is a huge manufacturing facility that produced the external fuel tanks for the Space Shuttles and is now used for the construction of NASA 's Space Launch System. The rocket factory lies within the enormous New Orleans Regional Business Park, also home to the National Finance Center, operated by the United States Department of Agriculture ( USDA ), and the Crescent Crown distribution center. Other large governmental installations include the U.S. Navy 's Space and Naval Warfare ( SPAWAR ) Systems Command, located within the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Park in Gentilly, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans ; and the headquarters for the Marine Force Reserves in Federal City in Algiers. Top employers This article needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. ( October 2017 ) According to the City 's 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers are : # Employer Employees Ochsner Health System 10,000 Tulane University 3,700 Acme Truck Line 2,100 Al Copeland Investments 2,071 5 Vinson Guard Services 1,700 6 Touro Infirmary 1,514 7 American Nursing Services 1,500 7 Boh Bros. Construction 1,500 9 Laitram 1,166 10 United States Services Group 1,004 Culture and Contemporary Life Main article : Culture of New Orleans Tourism See also : Culture of New Orleans § Museums and other attractions This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2013 ) New Orleans has many visitor attractions, from the world - renowned French Quarter to St. Charles Avenue, ( home of Tulane and Loyola Universities, the historic Pontchartrain Hotel and many 19th - century mansions ) to Magazine Street with its boutique stores and antique shops. French Quarter ( 2002 ) Street artist in the French Quarter ( 1988 ) According to current travel guides, New Orleans is one of the top ten most - visited cities in the United States ; 10.1 million visitors came to New Orleans in 2004. Prior to Katrina, 265 hotels with 38,338 rooms operated in the Greater New Orleans Area. In May 2007, that had declined to some 140 hotels and motels with over 31,000 rooms. A 2009 Travel + Leisure poll of `` America 's Favorite Cities '' ranked New Orleans first in ten categories, the most first - place rankings of the 30 cities included. According to the poll, New Orleans was the best U.S. city as a spring break destination and for `` wild weekends '', stylish boutique hotels, cocktail hours, singles / bar scenes, live music / concerts and bands, antique and vintage shops, cafés / coffee bars, neighborhood restaurants, and people watching. The city ranked second for : friendliness ( behind Charleston, South Carolina ), gay - friendliness ( behind San Francisco ), bed and breakfast hotels / inns, and ethnic food. However, the city placed near the bottom in cleanliness, safety and as a family destination. The French Quarter ( known locally as `` the Quarter '' or Vieux Carré ), which was the colonial - era city and is bounded by the Mississippi River, Rampart Street, Canal Street, and Esplanade Avenue, contains popular hotels, bars and nightclubs. Notable tourist attractions in the Quarter include Bourbon Street, Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, the French Market ( including Café du Monde, famous for café au lait and beignets ) and Preservation Hall. Also in the French Quarter is the old New Orleans Mint, a former branch of the United States Mint which now operates as a museum, and The Historic New Orleans Collection, a museum and research center housing art and artifacts relating to the history and the Gulf South. Close to the Quarter is the Tremé community, which contains the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park and the New Orleans African American Museum -- a site which is listed on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail. The Natchez is an authentic steamboat with a calliope that cruises the length of the city twice daily. Unlike most other places in the United States, New Orleans has become widely known for its elegant decay. The city 's historic cemeteries and their distinct above - ground tombs are attractions in themselves, the oldest and most famous of which, Saint Louis Cemetery, greatly resembles Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. The New Orleans Museum of Art ( NOMA ) located in City Park The National WWII Museum offers a multi-building odyssey through the history of the Pacific and European theaters. Nearby, Confederate Memorial Hall, the oldest continually - operating museum in Louisiana ( although under renovation since Katrina ), contains the second - largest collection of Confederate memorabilia. Art museums include the Contemporary Arts Center, the New Orleans Museum of Art ( NOMA ) in City Park, and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. New Orleans is home to the Audubon Nature Institute ( which consists of Audubon Park, the Audubon Zoo, the Aquarium of the Americas and the Audubon Insectarium ), and home to gardens which include Longue Vue House and Gardens and the New Orleans Botanical Garden. City Park, one of the country 's most expansive and visited urban parks, has one of the largest stands of oak trees in the world. Other points of interest can be found in the surrounding areas. Many wetlands are found nearby, including Honey Island Swamp and Barataria Preserve. Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery, located just south of the city, is the site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. In 2009, New Orleans ranked No. 7 on Newsmax magazine 's list of the `` Top 25 Most Uniquely American Cities and Towns ''. The piece cited the city 's post-Katrina rebuilding effort as well as its efforts to become eco-friendly. Entertainment and performing arts Main article : Music of New Orleans New Orleans Mardi Gras in the early 1890s. Mounted krewe officers in the Thoth Parade during Mardi Gras. The New Orleans area is home to numerous annual celebrations. The most well - known is Carnival, or Mardi Gras. Carnival officially begins on the Feast of the Epiphany, also known as the `` Twelfth Night ''. Mardi Gras ( French for `` Fat Tuesday '' ), the final and grandest day of festivities, is the last Tuesday before the Catholic liturgical season of Lent, which commences on Ash Wednesday. The largest of the city 's many music festivals is the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Commonly referred to simply as `` Jazz Fest '', it is one of the nation 's largest music festivals. The festival features a variety of music, including both native Louisiana and international artists. Along with Jazz Fest, New Orleans ' Voodoo Experience ( `` Voodoo Fest '' ) and the Essence Music Festival are other festivals featuring local and international artists. Other major festivals include Southern Decadence, the French Quarter Festival and the Tennessee Williams / New Orleans Literary Festival. In 2002, Louisiana began offering tax incentives for film and television production. This led to a substantial increase in activity and brought the nickname `` Hollywood South. '' Films produced in and around New Orleans include Ray, Runaway Jury, The Pelican Brief, Glory Road, All the King 's Men, Déjà Vu, Last Holiday, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and 12 Years a Slave. In 2006, work began on the Louisiana Film & Television studio complex, based in Tremé. Louisiana began to offer similar tax incentives for music and theater productions in 2007, leading many to begin referring to New Orleans as `` Broadway South. '' The first theatre in New Orleans was the French - language Theatre de la Rue Saint Pierre, which opened in 1792. The first opera in New Orleans was performed there in 1796. In the nineteenth century the city was the home of two of America 's most important venues for French opera, the Théâtre d'Orléans and later the French Opera House. Today, opera is performed by the New Orleans Opera. Louis Armstrong, famous New Orleans jazz musician Frank Ocean is a musician from New Orleans. New Orleans has long been a significant center for music, showcasing its intertwined European, Latin American and African cultures. The city 's unique musical heritage was born in its colonial and early American days from a unique blending of European musical instruments with African rhythms. As the only North American city to have allowed slaves to gather in public and play their native music ( largely in Congo Square, now located within Louis Armstrong Park ), New Orleans gave birth to an epochal indigenous music : jazz. Soon, brass bands formed, beginning a century - long tradition. The Louis Armstrong Park area, near the French Quarter in Tremé, contains the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. The city 's music was later significantly influenced by Acadiana, home of Cajun and Zydeco music, and by Delta blues. New Orleans ' unique musical culture is on display in its traditional funerals. A spin on military funerals, New Orleans ' traditional funerals feature sad music ( mostly dirges and hymns ) on the way to the cemetery and happier music ( hot jazz ) on the way back. Until the 1990s, most locals preferred to call these `` funerals with music '', but visitors to the city have long dubbed them `` jazz funerals. '' Much later in its musical development, New Orleans was home to a distinctive brand of rhythm and blues that contributed greatly to the growth of rock and roll. An example of the New Orleans ' sound in the 1960s is the # 1 US hit `` Chapel of Love '' by the Dixie Cups, a song which knocked the Beatles out of the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. New Orleans became a hotbed for funk music in the 1960s and 1970s, and by the late 1980s, it had developed its own localized variant of hip hop, called bounce music. While not commercially successful outside of the Deep South, it remained immensely popular in poorer neighborhoods throughout the 1990s. A cousin of bounce, New Orleans hip hop achieved commercial success locally and internationally, producing Lil Wayne, Master P, Birdman, Juvenile, Cash Money Records and No Limit Records. Additionally, the popularity of cowpunk, a fast form of southern rock, originated with the help of several local bands, such as The Radiators, Better Than Ezra, Cowboy Mouth and Dash Rip Rock. Throughout the 1990s, many sludge metal bands started. New Orleans ' heavy metal bands like Eyehategod, Soilent Green, Crowbar, and Down incorporated styles such as hardcore punk, doom metal and southern rock to create an original and heady brew of swampy and aggravated metal that has largely avoided standardization. New Orleans is the southern terminus of the famed Highway 61 made musically famous by Bob Dylan. Food Steamship Bienville on - board restaurant menu ( April 7, 1861 ) Café du Monde, a landmark New Orleans beignet cafe established in 1862. Main articles : Cuisine of New Orleans, Louisiana Creole cuisine, and Cajun cuisine New Orleans is world - famous for its food. The indigenous cuisine is distinctive and influential. New Orleans food combined local Creole, haute Creole and New Orleans French cuisines. Local ingredients, French, Spanish, Italian, African, Native American, Cajun, Chinese, and a hint of Cuban traditions combine to produce a truly unique and easily recognizable New Orleans flavor. New Orleans is known for specialties including beignets ( locally pronounced like `` ben - yays '' ), square - shaped fried dough that could be called `` French doughnuts '' ( served with café au lait made with a blend of coffee and chicory rather than only coffee ) ; and po ' boy and Italian muffuletta sandwiches ; Gulf oysters on the half - shell, fried oysters, boiled crawfish and other seafood ; étouffée, jambalaya, gumbo and other Creole dishes ; and the Monday favorite of red beans and rice ( Louis Armstrong often signed his letters, `` Red beans and ricely yours '' ). Another New Orleans specialty is the praline locally / ˈprɑːliːn /, a candy made with brown sugar, granulated sugar, cream, butter, and pecans. The city offers notable street food including the Asian inspired beef Yaka mein. Dialect Main article : New Orleans English See also : Culture of New Orleans § Language New Orleans ceveloped a distinctive local dialect that is neither Cajun nor the stereotypical Southern accent that is often misportrayed by film and television actors. Like earlier Southern Englishes, feature frequent deletion of the pre-consonantal `` r ''. This dialect is quite similar to New York City area accents such as `` Brooklynese '', to people unfamiliar with either. No consensus describes how it came to be, but it likely resulted from New Orleans ' geographic isolation by water and the fact that the city was a major immigration port throughout the 19th century. As a result, many of the ethnic groups who reside in Brooklyn also reside in New Orleans, such as the Irish, Italians ( especially Sicilians ), Germans and a Jewish community. One of the strongest varieties of the New Orleans accent is sometimes identified as the Yat dialect, from the greeting `` Where y'at ? '' This distinctive accent is dying out in the city, but remains strong in the surrounding parishes. Less visibly, various ethnic groups throughout the area have retained distinct language traditions. Although rare, languages still spoken include Cajun, the Kreyol Lwiziyen spoken by the Creoles and an archaic Louisiana - Canarian Spanish dialect spoken by the Isleño people and older members of the population. Sports Main article : Sports in New Orleans Club Sport League Venue ( capacity ) Founded Titles Record Attendance New Orleans Saints American football NFL Mercedes - Benz Superdome ( 73,208 ) 1967 73,043 New Orleans Pelicans Basketball NBA Smoothie King Center ( 16,867 ) 2002 0 18,444 New Orleans Baby Cakes Baseball PCL Shrine on Airline ( 10,000 ) 14 11,012 New Orleans ' professional sports teams include the 2009 Super Bowl XLIV champion New Orleans Saints ( NFL ), the New Orleans Pelicans ( NBA ), and the New Orleans Baby Cakes ( PCL ). It is also home to the Big Easy Rollergirls, an all - female flat track roller derby team, and the New Orleans Blaze, a women 's football team. New Orleans is also home to two NCAA Division I athletic programs, the Tulane Green Wave of the American Athletic Conference and the UNO Privateers of the Southland Conference. The fleur - de-lis is often a symbol of New Orleans and its sports teams. The Mercedes - Benz Superdome is the home of the Saints, the Sugar Bowl, and other prominent events. It has hosted the Super Bowl a record seven times ( 1978, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1997, 2002, and 2013 ). The Smoothie King Center is the home of the Pelicans, VooDoo, and many events that are not large enough to need the Superdome. New Orleans is also home to the Fair Grounds Race Course, the nation 's third - oldest thoroughbred track. The city 's Lakefront Arena has also been home to sporting events. Each year New Orleans plays host to the Sugar Bowl, the New Orleans Bowl and the Zurich Classic, a golf tournament on the PGA Tour. In addition, it has often hosted major sporting events that have no permanent home, such as the Super Bowl, ArenaBowl, NBA All - Star Game, BCS National Championship Game, and the NCAA Final Four. The Rock ' n ' Roll Mardi Gras Marathon and the Crescent City Classic are two annual road running events. National protected areas Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve ( part ) New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park Government See also : List of mayors of New Orleans This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2009 ) The City is a political subdivision of the state of Louisiana. It has a mayor - council government, following a Home Rule Charter adopted in 1954, as later amended. The city council consists of seven members, who are elected by district and two at - large councilmembers. The mayor as of 2017 was Mitch Landrieu. The Orleans Parish Civil Sheriff 's Office serves papers involving lawsuits and provides security for the Civil District Court and Juvenile Courts. The Criminal Sheriff, Marlin Gusman, maintains the parish prison system, provides security for the Criminal District Court, and provides backup for the New Orleans Police Department on an as - needed basis. An ordinance in 2006 established an Office of Inspector General to review city government activities. The city and the parish of Orleans operate as a merged city - parish government. The original city was composed of what are now the 1st through 9th wards. The city of Lafayette ( including the Garden District ) was added in 1852 as the 10th and 11th wards. In 1870, Jefferson City, including Faubourg Bouligny and much of the Audubon and University areas, was annexed as the 12th, 13th, and 14th wards. Algiers, on the west bank of the Mississippi, was also annexed in 1870, becoming the 15th ward. New Orleans ' government is largely centralized in the city council and mayor 's office, but it maintains earlier systems from when various sections of the city managed their affairs separately. For example, New Orleans had seven elected tax assessors, each with their own staff, representing various districts of the city, rather than one centralized office. A constitutional amendment passed on November 7, 2006 consolidated the seven assessors into one in 2010. The New Orleans government operates both a fire department and the New Orleans Emergency Medical Services. Crime Murder Capitol See also : New Orleans Police Department and Culture of New Orleans § Crime Crime is an ongoing problem. As in comparable U.S. cities, the incidence of homicide and other violent crimes is highly concentrated in certain impoverished neighborhoods. The murder rate for the city has been historically high and consistently among the highest rates nationwide. The first record was broken in 1979 when the city reached 242 homicides. The record would be broken again reaching 250 by 1989 to 345 by end of 1991. 1994 was the year the city was officially named the `` Murder Capitol of America '', hitting a historic peak at 424. The murder count surpassed Gary, Indiana Washington D.C., Chicago, Baltimore and Miami. In 2003 New Orleans 's murder rate was nearly eight times the national average and had the highest per capita city homicide rate in the United States with 274 homicides up from the previous year. According to the FBI New Orleans redeemed its status as `` America 's Murder Capitol '' for the second time since 1994. Although Homicides peaked in the early to mid 1990 's at 86 murders per 100,000 residents By 2009, despite a 17 % decrease in violent crime, the homicide rate remained among the highest in the United States, at between 55 and 64 per 100,000 residents. In 2010, New Orleans was 49.1 per 100,000, and in 2012, that number climbed to 53.2. This was the highest rate among cities of 250,000 population or larger. Offenders in New Orleans are almost exclusively black males : 97 % were black and 95 % were male. The violent crime rate was a key issue in the 2010 mayoral race. In January 2007, several thousand New Orleans residents marched to City Hall for a rally demanding police and city leaders tackle the crime problem. Then - Mayor Ray Nagin said he was `` totally and solely focused '' on addressing the problem. Later, the city implemented checkpoints during late night hours in problem areas. The murder rate climbed 14 % in 2011 to 57.88 per 100,000 rising to # 21 in the world. In 2016, according to annual crime statistics released by the New Orleans Police Department, 176 were murdered. In 2017, New Orleans had the highest rate of gun violence surpassing the larger populated Chicago and Detroit. Education Colleges and universities A view of Gibson Hall at Tulane University. New Orleans has the highest concentration of colleges and universities in Louisiana. Colleges and universities based within the city : Tulane University, a private, major research university founded in 1834. Loyola University New Orleans, a Jesuit university founded in 1912. University of New Orleans, a public, urban research university. Xavier University of Louisiana, the only historically black Catholic university in the United States. Southern University at New Orleans, a public, historically black university in the Southern University System. Dillard University, a private, historically black liberal arts college founded in 1869. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Our Lady of Holy Cross College, a Catholic liberal arts college founded in 1916. Notre Dame Seminary New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Delgado Community College, founded in 1921. William Carey College School of Nursing Herzing College New Orleans Culinary Institute Primary and Secondary schools New Orleans Public Schools ( NOPS ) is the city 's public school system. Katrina was a watershed moment for the school system. Pre-Katrina, NOPS was one of the area 's largest systems ( along with the Jefferson Parish public school system ). It was also the lowest - performing school district in Louisiana. According to researchers Carl L. Bankston and Stephen J. Caldas, only 12 of the 103 public schools within the city limits showed reasonably good performance. Following Hurricane Katrina, the state of Louisiana took over most of the schools within the system ( all schools that matched a nominal `` worst - performing '' metric ). Many of these schools ( and others ) were subsequently granted operating charters giving them administrative independence from the Orleans Parish School Board, the Recovery School District and / or the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education ( BESE ). At the start of the 2014 school year, all public school students in the NOPS system attended these independent public charter schools, the nation 's first to do so. The charter schools made significant and sustained gains in student achievement, led by outside operators such as KIPP, the Algiers Charter School Network, and the Capital One -- University of New Orleans Charter School Network. An October 2009 assessment demonstrated continued growth in the academic performance of public schools. Considering the scores of all public schools in New Orleans gives an overall school district performance score of 70.6. This score represents a 24 % improvement over an equivalent pre-Katrina ( 2004 ) metric, when a district score of 56.9 was posted. Notably, this score of 70.6 approaches the score ( 78.4 ) posted in 2009 by the adjacent, suburban Jefferson Parish public school system, though that system 's performance score is itself below the state average of 91. One particular change was that parents could choose which school to enroll their children in, rather than attending the school nearest them. Libraries Academic and public libraries as well as archives in New Orleans include Monroe Library at Loyola University, Howard - Tilton Memorial Library at Tulane University, the Law Library of Louisiana, and the Earl K. Long Library at the University of New Orleans. The New Orleans Public Library operates in 13 locations. The main library includes a Louisiana Division that houses city archives and special collections. Other research archives are located at the Historic New Orleans Collection and the Old U.S. Mint. An independently operated lending library called Iron Rail Book Collective specializes in radical and hard - to - find books. The library contains over 8,000 titles and is open to the public. The Louisiana Historical Association was founded in New Orleans in 1889. It operated first at Howard Memorial Library. A separate Memorial Hall for it was later added to Howard Library, designed by New Orleans architect Thomas Sully. Media Main article : Media of New Orleans See also : Culture of New Orleans § News & entertainment media Historically, the major newspaper in the area was The Times - Picayune. The paper made headlines of its own in 2012 when owner Advance Publications cut its print schedule to three days each week, instead focusing its efforts on its website, NOLA.com. That action briefly made New Orleans the largest city in the country without a daily newspaper, until the Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate began a New Orleans edition in September 2012. In June 2013, the Times - Picayune resumed daily printing with a condensed newsstand tabloid edition, nicknamed TP Street, which is published on the three days each week that its namesake broadsheet edition is not printed ( the Picayune has not returned to daily delivery ). With the resumption of daily print editions from the Times - Picayune and the launch of the New Orleans edition of The Advocate, now The New Orleans Advocate, the city had two daily newspapers for the first time since the afternoon States - Item ceased publication on May 31, 1980. In addition to the daily newspapers, weekly publications include The Louisiana Weekly and Gambit Weekly. Also, in wide circulation is the Clarion Herald, the newspaper of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans. Greater New Orleans is the 54th largest Designated Market Area ( DMA ) in the U.S., serving 566,960 homes. Major television network affiliates serving the area include : 4 WWL ( CBS ) 6 WDSU ( NBC ) 8 WVUE ( Fox ) 12 WYES ( PBS ) 20 WHNO ( LeSEA ) 26 WGNO ( ABC ) 32 WLAE ( PBS ) 38 WNOL ( The CW ) 42 KGLA ( Telemundo ) 49 WPXL ( Ion ) 54 WUPL ( MyNetworkTV ) WWOZ, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Station, broadcasts, modern and traditional jazz, blues, rhythm and blues, brass band, gospel, cajun, zydeco, Caribbean, Latin, Brazilian, African and bluegrass 24 hours per day. WTUL, is the Tulane University radio station. Its programming includes 20th century classical, reggae, jazz, showtunes, indie rock, electronic music, soul / funk, goth, punk, hip hop, New Orleans music, opera, folk, hardcore, Americana, country, blues, Latin, cheese, techno, local, world, ska, swing and big band, kids shows, and news programming. WTUL is listener supported and non-commercial. The disc jockeys are volunteers, many of them college students. Louisiana 's film and television tax credits spurred growth in the television industry, although to a lesser degree than in the film industry. Many films and advertisements were set there, along with television programs such as The Real World : New Orleans in 2000, The Real World : Back to New Orleans in 2009 and 2010 and Bad Girls Club : New Orleans in 2011. Two radio stations that were influential in promoting New Orleans - based bands and singers were 50,000 - watt WNOE - AM ( 1060 ) and 10,000 - watt WTIX ( 690 AM ). These two stations competed head - to - head from the late 1950s to the late 1970s. Transportation Streetcars A New Orleans streetcar traveling down Canal Street Streetcar network Main article : Streetcars in New Orleans New Orleans has four active streetcar lines : The St. Charles Streetcar Line is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in America. Each car is a historic landmark. It runs from Canal Street to the other end of St. Charles Avenue, then turns right into South Carrolton Avenue to its terminal at Carrolton and Claiborne. The Riverfront Streetcar Line runs parallel to the river from Esplanade Street through the French Quarter to Canal Street to the Convention Center above Julia Street in the Arts District. The Canal Streetcar Line uses the Riverfront line tracks from the intersection of Canal Street and Poydras Street, down Canal Street, then branches off and ends at the cemeteries at City Park Avenue, with a spur running from the intersection of Canal and Carrollton Avenue to the entrance of City Park at Esplanade, near the entrance to the New Orleans Museum of Art. The Rampart -- St. Claude Streetcar Line opened on January 28, 2013 as the Loyola - UPT Line running along Loyola Avenue from New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal to Canal Street, then continuing along Canal Street to the river, and on weekends on the Riverfront line tracks to French Market. The French Quarter Rail Expansion extended the line from the Loyola Avenue / Canal Street intersection along Rampart Street and St. Claude Avenue to Elysian Fields Avenue. It no longer runs along Canal Street to the river, or on weekends on the Riverfront line tracks to French Market. The city 's streetcars were featured in the Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire. The streetcar line to Desire Street became a bus line in 1948. Bicycling The city 's flat landscape, simple street grid, and mild winters, facilitate bicycle ridership, helping to make New Orleans eighth among U.S. cities in its rate of bicycle and pedestrian transportation as of 2010, and sixth in terms of the percentage of bicycling commuters. New Orleans is located at the start of the Mississippi River Trail, a 3,000 - mile ( 4,800 km ) bicycle path that stretches from the city 's Audubon Park to Minnesota. Since Katrina the city has actively sought to promote bicycling by constructing a $1.5 million bike trail from Mid-City to Lake Pontchartrain, and by adding over 37 miles ( 60 km ) of bicycle lanes to various streets, including St. Charles Avenue. In 2009, Tulane University contributed to these efforts by converting the main street through its Uptown campus, McAlister Place, into a pedestrian mall opened to bicycle traffic. A 3.1 - mile ( 5.0 km ) bicycle corridor stretches from the French Quarter to Lakeview, and 14 miles ( 23 km ) of additional bike lanes on existing streets. New Orleans has been recognized for its abundance of uniquely decorated and uniquely designed bicycles. Buses Public transportation is operated by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority ( `` RTA '' ). Many bus routes connect the city and suburban areas. The RTA lost 200 + buses in the flood. Some of the replacement buses operate on biodiesel. The Jefferson Parish Department of Transit Administration operates Jefferson Transit, which provides service between the city and its suburbs. Roads See also : List of streets of New Orleans New Orleans is served by Interstate 10, Interstate 610 and Interstate 510. I - 10 travels east -- west through the city as the Pontchartrain Expressway. In New Orleans East it is known as the Eastern Expressway. I - 610 provides a direct shortcut for traffic passing through New Orleans via I - 10, allowing that traffic to bypass I - 10 's southward curve. In addition to the interstates, U.S. 90 travels through the city, while U.S. 61 terminates downtown. In addition, U.S. 11 terminates in the eastern portion of the city. New Orleans is home to many bridges, most notably Crescent City Connection is perhaps the most notable. It serves as New Orleans ' major bridge across the Mississippi, providing a connection between the city 's downtown on the eastbank and its westbank suburbs. Other Mississippi crossings are the Huey P. Long Bridge, carrying U.S. 90 and the Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge, carrying Interstate 310. The Twin Span Bridge, a five - mile ( 8 km ) causeway in eastern New Orleans, carries I - 10 across Lake Pontchartrain. Also in eastern New Orleans, Interstate 510 / LA 47 travels across the Intracoastal Waterway / Mississippi River - Gulf Outlet Canal via the Paris Road Bridge, connecting New Orleans East and suburban Chalmette. The tolled Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, consisting of two parallel bridges are, at 24 miles ( 39 km ) long, the longest bridges in the world. Built in the 1950s ( southbound span ) and 1960s ( northbound span ), the bridges connect New Orleans with its suburbs on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain via Metairie. Airports The metropolitan area is served by the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, located in the suburb of Kenner. Regional airports include the Lakefront Airport, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans ( Callender Field ) in the suburb of Belle Chasse and Southern Seaplane Airport, also located in Belle Chasse. Southern Seaplane has a 3,200 - foot ( 980 m ) runway for wheeled planes and a 5,000 - foot ( 1,500 m ) water runway for seaplanes. New Orleans International suffered some damage from Katrina, but as of April 2007, it was the busiest airport in Louisiana and the sixth busiest in the Southeast. As of 2017, the airport handled more than 11 million passengers, serving more than 57 destinations. The airport 's international service includes nonstop flights to the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Honduras, Bahamas and Dominican Republic. Rail The city is served by Amtrak. The New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal is the central rail depot and is served by the Crescent, operating between New Orleans and New York City ; the City of New Orleans, operating between New Orleans and Chicago and the Sunset Limited, operating through New Orleans between Orlando and Los Angeles. Beginning in late August 2005, the Sunset Limited no longer served its official route. Since late October 2005 served only New Orleans - to - Los Angeles. The obstacles to restoration of the full route have been more managerial and political than physical. With the strategic benefits of both the port and its double - track Mississippi River crossings, the city attracted six of the seven Class I railroads in North America : Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern Railway, Kansas City Southern Railway, CSX Transportation and Canadian National Railway. The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad provides interchange services between the railroads. Ferries Ferries connecting New Orleans with Algiers ( left ) and Gretna ( right ) New Orleans has had continuous ferry service since 1827, operating three routes as of 2017. The Canal Street Ferry ( or Algiers Ferry ) connects downtown New Orleans at the foot of Canal Street with the National Historic Landmark District of Algiers Point across the Mississippi ( `` West Bank '' in local parlance ). It services passenger vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. This same terminal also serves the Canal Street / Gretna Ferry, connecting Gretna, Louisiana for pedestrians and bicyclists only. A third auto / bicycle / pedestrian connects Chalmette, Louisiana and Lower Algiers. Notable people Main article : List of people from New Orleans Sister cities New Orleans has ten sister cities : Caracas, Venezuela Durban, South Africa Innsbruck, Austria Juan - les - Pins, France Maracaibo, Venezuela Matsue, Shimane, Japan Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico Pointe - Noire, Republic of the Congo San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina Tegucigalpa, Honduras Twinnings and Partnerships Batumi, Georgia See also Geography portal North America portal United States portal Louisiana portal New Orleans portal New France portal Buildings and architecture French Quarter Jackson Square The Cabildo The Presbytere Pontalba Buildings St. Louis Cathedral French Market New Orleans Mint History Île d'Orléans, Louisiana Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve List of people from New Orleans Mississippi ( River ) Suite, with an orchestral portrayal of Mardi Gras National Register of Historic Places listings in Orleans Parish, Louisiana Neighborhoods in New Orleans Downtown New Orleans Uptown New Orleans New Orleans in fiction New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park New Orleans Mardi Gras New Orleans metropolitan area New Orleans Public Library New Orleans Public Schools New Orleans Regional Transit Authority Streetcars in New Orleans New Orleans Suite, Duke Ellington recording New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal Orléans, France Preservation Hall Southern Food and Beverage Museum USS New Orleans USS Orleans Parish Notes Jump up ^ Mean monthly maxima and minima ( i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month ) calculated based on data at said location from 1981 to 2010. Jump up ^ Official records for New Orleans have been kept at MSY since 1 May 1946. Additional records from Audubon Park dating back to 1893 have also been included. Jump up ^ Sunshine normals are based on only 20 to 22 years of data References Jump up ^ `` 2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files ''. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Jul 2, 2017. Jump up ^ `` County Totals Datasets : Population Estimates ''. Archived from the original on 2016 - 07 - 08. Jump up ^ `` Population and Housing Unit Estimates ''. Retrieved June 9, 2017. Jump up ^ Romer, Megan. `` How to Say ' New Orleans ' Correctly ''. About Travel. about.com. Retrieved 31 January 2015. Jump up ^ ( Merriam - Webster Dictionary ) Jump up ^ `` Largest U.S. Cities by Population, 1850 -- 2010 '', U.S Census Bureau, in World Almanac and Book of Facts 2012, p. 613. ^ Jump up to : `` State & County QuickFacts ''. United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 31, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Largest U.S. Metropolitan Areas by Population, 1990 -- 2010 '', U.S. Census Bureau, in World Almanac and Book of Facts 2012, p. 612. Jump up ^ `` United States Combined Statistical Area Population - iWeblists ''. www.iweblists.com. ^ Jump up to : `` Quick Facts -- Louisiana Population Estimates ''. US Department of Commerce. Retrieved January 6, 2017. Jump up ^ Cultures well represented in New Orleans ' history include French, Native American, African, Spanish, Cajun, German, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Latino, and Vietnamese. `` The Founding French Fathers ''. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 26. ^ Jump up to : `` New Orleans : The Birthplace of Jazz '' ( primarily excerpted from Jazz : A History of America 's Music ). PBS -- JAZZ A Film By Ken Burns. Retrieved 2006 - 05 - 17. Jump up ^ `` America Savors Its Music During Jazz Appreciation Month ''. U.S. Dept. of State -- USINFO. Archived from the original on 2006 - 05 - 17. Retrieved 2006 - 05 - 17. Jump up ^ The term `` most unique '' is grammatically incorrect, as the word `` unique '' is a superlative. See for example : Merriam - Webster Dictionary of American Usage, Springfield, Massachusetts : Merriam - Webster, Inc., 1994. Fowler, Henry, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, Oxford : Oxford University Press, USA, 2003. Nicholson, Margaret, A Dictionary of American English Usage, New York : Oxford University Press, 1957. Jump up ^ Institute of New Orleans History and Culture at Gwynedd - Mercy College Jump up ^ Behind the Scenes : Hurricane on the Bayou Archived 2016 - 01 - 15 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ David Billings, `` New Orleans : A Choice Between Destruction and Reparations '', The Fellowship of Reconciliation, November / December 2005 Jump up ^ `` bringneworleansback.org ''. www.bringneworleansback.org. Jump up ^ Damian Dovarganes, Associated Press, `` Spike Lee offers his take on Hurricane Katrina '', MSNBC, 14 July 2006 ^ Jump up to : `` Orleans Parish History and Information ''. Archived from the original on 2005 - 05 - 15. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 18. Jump up ^ `` Louisiana Parish Map with Administrative Cities ''. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 18. ^ Jump up to : `` Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans as amended through January 1, 1996 ''. 1996 - 01 - 01. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved 2011 - 01 - 12. Jump up ^ `` New Orleans Nicknames ''. New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau. Archived from the original on 2009 - 01 - 07. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 02. Jump up ^ Ingersoll, Steve ( March 2004 ). `` New Orleans -- '' The City That Care Forgot '' and Other Nicknames A Preliminary Investigation ``. New Orleans Public Library. Archived from the original on 2004 - 09 - 20. Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 09. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ Mitchell, Barbara ( Autumn 2010 ). `` America 's Spanish Savior : Bernardo de Gálvez marches to rescue the colonies ''. MHQ : The Quarterly Journal of Military History : 98 -- 104. Jump up ^ `` National Park Service. Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings. Ursuline Convent ''. Retrieved 2010 - 09 - 10. ^ Jump up to : `` Haitian Immigration : 18th & 19th Centuries '', In Motion : African American Migration Experience, New York Public Library, accessed 7 May 2008 Jump up ^ Gitlin 2009, p. 54. Jump up ^ Groom, Winston ( 2007 ). Patriotic Fire : Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans. Vintage Books. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4000 - 9566 - 7. Jump up ^ `` History of Les Gens De Couleur Libres ''. Archived from the original on May 22, 2006. Retrieved 2006 - 05 - 17. Jump up ^ Walter Johnson, Soul by Soul : Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market, Cambridge : Harvard University Press, 1999, p. 2 and 6 Jump up ^ Gitlin 2009, p. 159. Jump up ^ Lewis, Peirce F., New Orleans : The Making of an Urban Landscape, Santa Fe, 2003, p. 175 ^ Jump up to : Lawrence J. Kotlikoff and Anton J. Rupert, `` The Manumission of Slaves in New Orleans, 1827 -- 1846 '', Southern Studies, Summer 1980 ^ Jump up to : Gitlin 2009, p. 166. ^ Jump up to : Nystrom, Justin A. ( 1 September 2010 ). New Orleans after the Civil War : Race, Politics, and a New Birth of Freedom. JHU Press. pp. 6 --. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8018 - 9997 - 3. Jump up ^ Gitlin 2009, p. 180. Jump up ^ Leslie 's Weekly, December 11, 1902 Jump up ^ Robert Tallant & Lyle Saxon, Gumbo Ya - Ya : Folk Tales of Louisiana, Louisiana Library Commission : 1945, p. 178 Jump up ^ Brasseaux, Carl A. ( 1 March 2005 ). French, Cajun, Creole, Houma : A Primer on Francophone Louisiana. LSU Press. p. 32. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8071 - 3036 - 0. Jump up ^ New Orleans City Guide. The Federal Writers ' Project of the Works Progress Administration : 1938, pg 90 Jump up ^ `` The Ustica Connection ''. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 22. Jump up ^ `` Immigration / Italian ''. Library of Congress. Jump up ^ Gambino, Richard ( 2000 ). Vendetta : The True Story of the Largest Lynching in U.S. History. Guernica Editions. ISBN 978 - 1 - 55071 - 103 - 5. ^ Jump up to : Lewis, Peirce F., New Orleans : The Making of an Urban Landscape, Santa Fe, 2003, p. 175. Jump up ^ Germany, Kent B., New Orleans After the Promises : Poverty, Citizenship and the Search for the Great Society, Athens, 2007, pp. 3 -- 5 ^ Jump up to : Glassman, James K., `` New Orleans : I have Seen the Future, and It 's Houston '', The Atlantic Monthly, July 1978 Jump up ^ Kusky, Timothy M. ( 2005 - 12 - 29 ). `` Why is New Orleans Sinking ? '' ( PDF ). Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Saint Louis University. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2006 - 06 - 23. Retrieved 2006 - 06 - 17. Jump up ^ O'Hanlon, Larry ( 2006 - 03 - 31 ). `` New Orleans Sits Atop Giant Landslide ''. Discovery Channel. Archived from the original on 2006 - 06 - 14. Retrieved 2006 - 06 - 17. Jump up ^ Kevin Baker Archived 2009 - 10 - 05 at the Wayback Machine. `` The Future of New Orleans '', American Heritage, April / May 2006. Jump up ^ Marshall, Bob ( 2005 - 11 - 30 ). `` 17th Street Canal levee was doomed ''. The Times - Picayune. Archived from the original on 2006 - 09 - 07. Retrieved 2006 - 03 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Deaths of evacuees push toll to 1,577 ''. nola.com. Archived from the original on 2007 - 09 - 30. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 22. ^ Jump up to : `` After Katrina : 184 Infantry Soldiers to the Rescue '' ( PDF ). The Spectrum, October 2005. Jump up ^ `` Mayor : Parts of New Orleans to reopen ''. CNN.com. September 15, 2005. Retrieved 2006 - 05 - 02. Jump up ^ `` N.O. head count gains steam '' Archived 2009 - 07 - 01 at the Wayback Machine., The Times - Picayune, August 9, 2007. Retrieved August 14, 2007. ^ Jump up to : `` New Orleans ' population estimate was low by 25,000, Census says '', The Times - Picayune, January 8, 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` New Orleans post-Katrina population still growing, but at slower rate ''. Jump up ^ `` New Orleans Braces for Convention Comeback ''. Archived from the original on 2008 - 05 - 20. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 23. Jump up ^ `` New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau ''. Archived from the original on 2008 - 04 - 03. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 23. Jump up ^ Nola.com Archived 2010 - 06 - 22 at the Wayback Machine., New Orleans Jump up ^ `` No reported fatalities after New Orleans East tornado : Landrieu ''. Jump up ^ `` 2010 Census Gazetteer Files ''. United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014. Jump up ^ Citation required Jump up ^ Campanella, R. Above - Sea - Level New Orleans April, 2007. Jump up ^ Williams, L. Higher Ground A study finds that New Orleans has plenty of real estate above sea level that is being underutilized. The Times Picayune, April 21, 2007. Jump up ^ Schlotzhauer, D. and Lincoln, W.S. Using New Orleans Pumping Data to Reconcile Gauge Observations of Isolated Extreme Rainfall due to Hurricane Isaac Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, May 6, 2016. Jump up ^ Strecker, M. ( 2006 - 07 - 24 ). `` A New Look at Subsidence Issues ''. ^ Jump up to : The New Orleans Hurricane Protection System : What Went Wrong and Why. Archived 2007 - 07 - 02 at the Wayback Machine. Report by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Jump up ^ `` New Study Maps Rate of New Orleans Sinking ''. 2016 - 05 - 16. Jump up ^ Brock, Eric J. New Orleans, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina ( 1999 ), pp 108 -- 109. Jump up ^ `` Part 2 - The Plan ; Section 1 - How We Live ; Map - Local and National Register Historic Districts ''. Archived from the original on 2016 - 01 - 15. Jump up ^ `` Threaded Extremes ''. threadex.rcc-acis.org. ^ Jump up to : `` NOWData -- NOAA Online Weather Data ''. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 06. Jump up ^ `` Station Name : LA NEW ORLEANS INTL AP ''. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2014 - 03 - 27. ^ Jump up to : `` WMO Climate Normals for NEW ORLEANS, LA 1961 -- 1990 ''. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2014 - 03 - 27. Jump up ^ `` USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map ''. USDA / Agricultural Research Center, PRISM Climate Group Oregon State University. Archived from the original on 2014 - 02 - 27. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 07. Jump up ^ Tidwell, Mike ( 16 August 2006 ). The Ravaging Tide : Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America 's Coastal Cities. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4165 - 3810 - 3. Jump up ^ Federal Emergency Management Agency Archived 2012 - 07 - 03 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Jump up to : See Hurricane preparedness for New Orleans # Early 20th century hurricanes Jump up ^ See Hurricane preparedness for New Orleans # Late 20th century hurricanes Jump up ^ Jr, James C. McKinley ; Urbina, Ian ( 12 September 2008 ). `` Huge Storm Slams Into Coast of Texas '' -- via www.nytimes.com. Jump up ^ Rita 's impact, city by city. Flooding and power outages plague Texas and Louisiana. CNN, September 24, 2005. Jump up ^ `` The Weather Channel 's Special Report : Vulnerable Cities -- New Orleans, Louisiana ''. Archived from the original on 2006 - 04 - 27. Retrieved 2006 - 10 - 26. Jump up ^ `` New Orleans People, Pets Flee Flood ( photographs ) '' National Geographic, August 30, 2005. Jump up ^ Floodwaters, tensions rise in New Orleans. Archived 2008 - 12 - 18 at the Wayback Machine. CNN, August 31, 2005. Jump up ^ Barry, J.M. `` What You Need to Know About Katrina -- and Do n't -- Why It Makes Economic Sense to Protect and Rebuild New Orleans ''. Retrieved 2007 - 12 - 11. Jump up ^ President Bush signs OCS revenue sharing bill ; Statement by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. From : gov.louisiana.gov, December 20, 2006. Jump up ^ Walsh, B. Blanco, Nagin lobby for Louisiana aid. Archived 2009 - 07 - 01 at the Wayback Machine. The Times Picayune, October 17, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Levees Cannot Fully Eliminate Risk of Flooding to New Orleans '' National Academy of Sciences, April 24, 2009 ^ Jump up to : `` County Totals Datasets : Population Estimates ''. Jump up ^ Gibson, Campbell ( June 1998 ). `` Population Of The 100 Largest Cities And Other Urban Places In The United States : 1790 To 1990 ''. Population Division, U.S. Bureau of the Census. Archived from the original on 2007 - 03 - 14. Retrieved 2006 - 05 - 02. Jump up ^ `` U.S. Decennial Census ''. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 20, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Historical Census Browser ''. University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 20, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Population of Counties by Decennial Census : 1900 to 1990 ''. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 20, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Census 2000 PHC - T - 4. Ranking Tables for Counties : 1990 and 2000 '' ( PDF ). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 20, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Census of Population and Housing ''. Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015. Jump up ^ Factfinder2census.gov Archived 2011 - 05 - 20 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Population estimates by parish ''. US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2009 - 07 - 09. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 22. Jump up ^ `` Expert : N.O. population at 273,000. '' wwltv.com. 2007 - 08 - 07. Archived from the original on 2008 - 02 - 26. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Mail survey shows N.O. population at 69 percent of Pre-Katrina. '' wwltv.com. 2007 - 09 - 27. Archived from the original on 2008 - 03 - 27. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 03. Jump up ^ Eaton, Leslie ( 2006 - 06 - 08 ). `` Study Sees Increase in Illegal Hispanic Workers in New Orleans ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 31. Jump up ^ Moreno Gonzales, J. Katrina Brought a Wave of Hispanics. Guardian Unlimited, July 2, 2007. Jump up ^ `` New Orleans ( city ), Louisiana ''. State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2016 - 01 - 02. ^ Jump up to : `` Louisiana -- Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places : Earliest Census to 1990 ''. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2012. ^ Jump up to : From 15 % sample Jump up ^ `` Orleans County ''. Modern Language Association. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013. Jump up ^ `` New Orleans Archdiocese ( Catholic - Hierarchy ) ''. Retrieved 2007 - 01 - 04. Jump up ^ New Orleans, `` now under the flag of the United States, is still very much a Caribbean city... '' `` The Pearl of the Antilles and the Crescent City : Historic Maps of the Caribbean in the Latin American Library Map Collections ''. Latin American Library, Tulane University. Archived from the original on 2006 - 12 - 08. Retrieved 2007 - 01 - 04. Jump up ^ New Orleans is described as `` a Caribbean city, an exuberant, semi-tropical city, perhaps the most hedonistic city in the United States ''. R.W. Apple, Jr. `` Apple 's America '' ( quoted on ePodunk.com ). Retrieved 2007 - 01 - 04. Jump up ^ New Orleans `` is often called the northernmost Caribbean city ''. Kemp, John R. ( 1997 - 11 - 30 ). `` When the painter met the Creoles ''. The Boston Globe. p. G3. Retrieved 2007 - 01 - 04. Jump up ^ Nolan, Bruce ( August 25, 2012 ). `` Congregation Beth Israel ends 7 years of Hurricane Katrina - induced wandering ''. The Times - Picayune. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014. Jump up ^ `` Hispanic population booms in Kenner and elsewhere in New Orleans area '' ( Archive ). The Times - Picayune. June 15, 2011. Retrieved on September 7, 2015. Jump up ^ Nolan, Bruce. `` New Orleans now home to thousands of Brazilians '' ( Archive ). Houston Chronicle. Sunday January 27, 2008. Retrieved on September 6, 2015. Jump up ^ Justin B. Hollander ; Karina Pallagast ; Terry Schwarz ; Frank J. Popper ( 2009 - 01 - 09 ). `` Planning Shrinking Cities ''. Jump up ^ William H. Frey ( 1987 ). `` Migration and Depopulation of the Metropolis : Regional Restructuring or Rural Renaissance ''. American Sociological Review. 52 ( 2 ) : 240 -- 287. doi : 10.2307 / 2095452. ^ Jump up to : Elizabeth Fussell ( 2007 ). `` Constructing New Orleans, Constructing Race : A Population History of New Orleans ''. The Journal of American History. 93 ( 3 ) : 846 -- 855. doi : 10.2307 / 25095147. ^ Jump up to : Bruce Katz ( 2006 - 08 - 04 ). `` Concentrated Poverty in New Orleans and Other American Cities ''. Brookings. Jump up ^ Daphne Spain ( January 1979 ). `` Race Relations and the Residential Segregation in New Orleans : Two Centuries of Paradox ''. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 441 ( 82 ). Jump up ^ R.W. Kates ; C.E. Colten ; S. Laska ; S.P. Leatherman ( 2006 ). `` Reconstruction of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina : a research perspective ''. PNAS. 103 ( 40 ) : 14653 -- 14660. doi : 10.1073 / pnas. 0605726103. PMC 1595407. PMID 17003119. Jump up ^ Renia Ehrenfeucht ; Marla Nelson ( 2011 ). `` Planning, Population Loss and Equity in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina ''. Planning, Practice & Research. 26 ( 2 ) : 129 -- 146. doi : 10.1080 / 02697459.2011. 560457. ^ Jump up to : Marla Nelson ; Renioa Ehrenfeucht ; Shirley Laska ( 2007 ). `` Planning, Plans and People : Professional Expertise, Local Knowledge, and Governmental Action in Post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans ''. Cityscape. 9 ( 3 ) : 23 -- 52. Jump up ^ Reilly Morse ( 2008 ). Environmental Justice through the Eye of Hurricane Katrina. Washington, D.C. : Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Health Policy Institute,. Jump up ^ Robery Olshansky ; Laurie A. Johnson ; Jedidiah Horne ; Brendan Nee ( 2008 ). `` Longer View : Planning for the Rebuilding of New Orleans ''. Journal of the American Planning Association. 74 ( 3 ) : 273 -- 287. doi : 10.1080 / 01944360802140835. Jump up ^ Kenneth M. Reardon ; Heroiu Ionesu ; Andrew J. Rumbach ( 2008 ). `` Equity Planning in Post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans : Lessons from te Ninth Ward ''. Cityscape. 10 ( 3 ) : 57 -- 76. Jump up ^ `` Greater New Orleans, Inc. Regional Economic Alliance ''. Gnoinc.org. Retrieved 2013 - 03 - 26. Jump up ^ Louisiana Quick Facts. U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 12, 2007. ^ Jump up to : Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism. `` 2006 -- 07 Marketing Plan '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2008 - 04 - 09. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 22. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ `` World Cultural Economic Forumn ''. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 15. Jump up ^ City of New Orleans, Louisiana Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, for the year ended December 31, 2008 Archived May 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2011 - 02 - 03 Jump up ^ U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. `` Overseas visitors to select U.S. cities / Hawaiian Islands 2001 -- 2000 ''. Retrieved 2007 - 11 - 12. Jump up ^ `` New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation '' ( PDF ). Jump up ^ `` America 's Favorite Cities ''. Travel + Leisure. 2010 - 06 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Travel + Leisure says New Orleans is tops for live music, cocktails and cheap eats ''. Jump up ^ Greenberg, Peter. `` Newsmax Magazine Rates the Top 25 Most Uniquely American Cities And Towns ''. Retrieved 14 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` Treme film studio work begins ''. Archived from the original on 2008 - 05 - 05. Retrieved 2008 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ `` Blanco okays Broadway South tax credit program ''. Retrieved 2007 - 03 - 23. ^ Jump up to : Huey, Steve. `` Eyehategod ''. AllMusic. Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 22. ^ Jump up to : York, William. `` Soilent Green ''. AllMusic. Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 22. ^ Jump up to : Huey, Steve. `` Crowbar ''. AllMusic. Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 22. ^ Jump up to : Prato, Greg. `` Down ''. Allmusic. Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 22. Jump up ^ `` New Orleans Online ''. Jump up ^ `` New York Food Journal Guide to New Orleans Street Food ''. Jump up ^ Liebling, A.J. ( 1970 ). The Earl of Louisiana. Baton Rouge : LSU. Jump up ^ `` Newcomers ' Incentive Extension ''. Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. Archived from the original on 2008 - 05 - 24. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 22. Jump up ^ `` The New Orleans VooDoo and the Arena Football League are returning ''. Jump up ^ `` History of the New Orleans Blaze '' ( PDF ). New Orleans Blaze. 2008 - 04 - 03. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2008 - 10 - 01. Retrieved 2008 - 09 - 27. Jump up ^ Vargas, Ramon ( 2007 - 05 - 04 ). `` Big Easy Rollergirls deliver bruising derby action ''. New Orleans CityBusiness. Archived from the original on 2007 - 06 - 22. Retrieved 2008 - 09 - 27. Jump up ^ `` Mitch Landrieu Wins New Orleans ''. The Times - Picayune. Retrieved July 6, 2010. Jump up ^ Nola.com The Times - Picayune. Retrieved on July 6, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Find a County ''. National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Erroll Williams Elected CityWide Tax Assessor ''. he Times - Picayune. Retrieved July 6, 2010. Jump up ^ Ritea S. and T. Young. `` Violence thrives on lack of jobs, wealth of drugs '' Archived 2015 - 11 - 17 at the Wayback Machine. The Times - Picayune, February 8, 2004 PDF Jump up ^ `` Murders in New Orleans were slightly fewer in 2012 than in 2011 ''. Jump up ^ http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/12/murders_in_new_orleans_were_sl.html Jump up ^ https://www.cnn.com/2012/03/01/us/new-orleans-murder/index.html Jump up ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/03/nyregion/preliminary-1991-figures-show-drop-in-homicides.html Jump up ^ KATZ, JESSE ( 7 September 1995 ). `` Police now the usual suspects in New Orleans : Officers have been tied to killings, including serial slayings. Yet the department has helped slash the murder rate '' -- via LA Times. Jump up ^ http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19960506&slug=2327755 Jump up ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/10/us/nationalspecial/new-orleans-crime-swept-away-with-most-of-the-people.html Jump up ^ http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/08/murders_down_in_first_half_of.html Jump up ^ http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8999837/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/new-orleans-murder-rate-rise-again/ Jump up ^ `` New Orleans murder rate on the rise again ''. MSNBC. 2005 - 08 - 18. Retrieved 2006 - 05 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Police chief calls New Orleans top murder rank misleading ''. The Times - Picayune. 2009 - 06 - 03. Retrieved 2010 - 02 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Despite drop in crime, New Orleans ' murder rate continues to lead nation ''. The Times - Picayune. 2009 - 06 - 01. Retrieved 2010 - 02 - 21. ^ Jump up to : `` Crime in New Orleans, Louisiana ( LA ) : murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, arson, law enforcement employees, police officers, crime map ''. www.city-data.com. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 22. Jump up ^ Louisiana Offenses Known to Law Enforcement FBI. Retrieved August 10, 2012 Jump up ^ Uniform Crime Reporting Tool FBI. Retrieved August 10, 2012. Jump up ^ CRIME IN NEW ORLEANS : ANALYZING CRIME TRENDS AND NEW ORLEANS ' RESPONSES TO CRIME, Charles Wellford, Ph. D., Brenda J. Bond, Ph. D., Sean Goodison Archived 2015 - 02 - 01 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` New Orleans mayoral candidates can agree : Crime is critical issue ''. The Times - Picayune. 2009 - 01 - 29. Retrieved 2010 - 02 - 21. Jump up ^ Maggi, Laura ( January 1, 2012 ). `` New Orleans homicides jump by 14 percent in 2011 ''. The Times - Picayune. Retrieved January 7, 2013. Jump up ^ `` San Pedro Sula, la ciudad más violenta del mundo ; Juárez, la segunda '' ( in Spanish ). Security, Justice and Peace. January 8, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2012. Jump up ^ Bullington, Jonathan ( January 4, 2017 ). `` New Orleans last homicide of 2016 preliminarily ruled justifiable, NOPD says. '' The Times - Picayune. Retrieved January 15, 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Demographics of Murder in New Orleans : 2016 ''. 4 January 2017. Jump up ^ http://wgntv.com/2017/06/20/chicago-not-most-dangerous-u-s-city-in-new-study/ Jump up ^ http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/orleans/new-orleans-homicide-rate-is-higher-than-chicago/437912767 Jump up ^ Bankston III, Carl L. ( 2002 ). `` A Troubled Dream : The Promise and Failure of School Desegregation in Louisiana ''. Vanderbilt University. Archived from the original on 2009 - 02 - 26. Jump up ^ Harden, Kari Dequine ( June 2, 2014 ). `` New Orleans nearing a ' privatized ' public school system ''. Louisiana Weekly. Retrieved 1 July 2014. As the Recovery School District ( RSD ) shuts the doors on its remaining handful of traditional public schools, the start of the 2014 school year will usher in the nation 's first completely privatized public school district. Jump up ^ `` Orleans Parish school performance scores continue to improve '', The Times - Picayune, October 14, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Jefferson Parish schools make progress, but still have long way to go : an editorial '', The Times - Picayune, October 15, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Vallas wants no return to old ways '', The Times - Picayune, July 25, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Howard - Tilton Memorial Library ''. Retrieved 2006 - 05 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Law Library of Louisiana ''. Louisiana Supreme Court. Retrieved 2006 - 05 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Earl K. Long Library ''. University of New Orleans. Retrieved 2006 - 05 - 17. Jump up ^ `` NOPL Branches ''. Hubbell Library. Retrieved 2006 - 05 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Louisiana Division, City Archives and Special Collections ''. New Orleans Public Library. Retrieved 2006 - 05 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Williams Research Center ''. Historic New Orleans Collection. Retrieved 2006 - 05 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Old US Mint ''. Louisiana State Museum. Retrieved 2006 - 05 - 17. Jump up ^ Kenneth Trist Urquhart ( March 21, 1959 ). `` Seventy Years of the Louisiana Historical Association '' ( PDF ). Alexandria, Louisiana : lahistory.org. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on September 23, 2010. Retrieved July 21, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Gambit Weekly - New Orleans News and Entertainment ''. Gambit. Jump up ^ Nielsen Reports 1.1 % increase in U.S. Television Households for the 2006 -- 2007 Season. Nielson Media Research, August 23, 2006. Jump up ^ `` WWOZ New Orleans 90.7 FM ''. WWOZ New Orleans 90.7 FM. Jump up ^ `` Facts about WWOZ ''. Archived from the original on 2009 - 07 - 04. Jump up ^ `` Home - WTUL New Orleans 91.5 FM ''. www.wtulneworleans.com. Jump up ^ Thompson, Richard. `` Real World New Orleans : Toothbrush - as - toilet scrubber sickens housemate, triggers police action '' Nola.com ; March 21, 2010 Jump up ^ Martin, Michael. `` MTV Real World Back to New Orleans Filming Ends '' Michael Martin Agency ; May 12, 2010 Jump up ^ Real World : Back to New Orleans Trailer Archived 2014 - 06 - 28 at the Wayback Machine. ; Vevmo Jump up ^ `` ' Bad Girls Club ' launches New Orleans season ''. NOLA.com. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 22. ^ Jump up to : `` Bicycle Second Line celebrates New Orleans ' expanded bike lanes and awareness ''. ^ Jump up to : `` Biking in New Orleans might be less of an uphill battle these days ''. Jump up ^ `` Welcome mississippirivertrail.org - BlueHost.com ''. www.mississippirivertrail.org. Jump up ^ `` Wisner bike path opens today ''. Jump up ^ `` McAlister Place ''. tulane.edu. Jump up ^ Markbattypublisher.com Archived 2015 - 02 - 01 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Department of Transit Administration. Archived 2012 - 02 - 20 at the Wayback Machine. The Parish of Jefferson. Retrieved November 12, 2007. Jump up ^ Jefferson Transit. Jump up ^ `` Friends of the Ferry ''. Retrieved 2 July 2014. Jump up ^ Sister Cities designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. ( SCI ) Archived 2005 - 12 - 22 at the Wayback Machine... Retrieved March 22, 2008. Jump up ^ Hammer, David ( 2007 - 09 - 16 ). `` Marconi Meadows is fertile ground to replant a festival that celebrates diversity ''. The Times - Picayune. Archived from the original on 2009 - 01 - 07. Retrieved 2008 - 09 - 25. Jump up ^ `` Batumi -- Twin Towns & Sister Cities ''. Batumi City Hall. Archived from the original on 2012 - 05 - 04. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 10. Further reading Gitlin, Jay ( 1 December 2009 ). The Bourgeois Frontier : French Towns, French Traders, and American Expansion. Yale University Press. p. 159. ISBN 978 - 0 - 300 - 15576 - 1. Thomas J. Adams and Steve Striffler ( eds. ), Working in the Big Easy : The History and Politics of Labor in New Orleans. Lafayette, Louisiana : University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, 2014. Nathalie Dessens, Creole City : A Chronicle of Early American New Orleans. Gainesville, Florida : University Press of Florida, 2015. Rien Fertel, Imagining the Creole City : The Rise of Literary Culture in Nineteenth - Century New Orleans. Baton Rouge, Louisiana : Louisiana State University Press, 2014. Scott P. Marler, The Merchants ' Capital : New Orleans and the Political Economy of the Nineteenth - Century South. New York : Cambridge University Press, 2013. Lawrence N. Powell, The Accidental City : Improvising New Orleans. Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2012. LaKisha Michelle Simmons, Crescent City Girls : The Lives of Young Black Women in Segregated New Orleans. Chapel Hill, NC : University of North Carolina Press, 2015. Rebecca Solnit and Rebecca Snedeker, Unfathomable City : A New Orleans Atlas. Berkeley, California : University of California Press, 2013. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Orleans. Wikivoyage has a travel guide for New Orleans. Find more aboutNew Orleansat Wikipedia 's sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Wikimedia Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Travel guide from Wikivoyage Learning resources from Wikiversity Official website Archived index at the Wayback Machine. Official Tourism Website History New Orleans Collection, 1770 -- 1904 from the New - York Historical Society Army Corps of Engineers ' New Orleans Risk and Reliability Report -- Interactive map showing flood risk Geology and Hurricane - Protection Strategies in the Greater New Orleans Area Louisiana Geological Survey publication on geology Who 's Killing New Orleans ? -- City Journal Louisiana Hurricane History, David Roth. National Weather Service, Camp Springs, MD. 2010. City of New Orleans Orleans Parish New Orleans metropolitan area Louisiana Topics Architecture Culture Demographics Economy Education Flag Geography Healthcare History Timeline Mardi Gras Media Music Neighborhoods Notable people Skyscrapers Sports Streetcars Tourism Government Mayors City Council Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness Police Department Sheriff 's Department Fire Department EMS Public schools Airport RTA Colleges / Universities Delgado Community College Dillard Holy Cross Loyola LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Notre Dame Seminary SUNO Tulane University UNO Xavier Sports New Orleans Pelicans New Orleans Privateers ( UNO ) New Orleans Saints New Orleans Baby Cakes Tulane Green Wave ( Tulane U ) Wards and neighborhoods of Orleans Parish / New Orleans, Louisiana Neighborhoods East Bank French Quarter / CBD French Quarter Central Business District Central City / Garden District Central City Chinatown East Riverside Garden District Irish Channel Lower Garden District Milan St. Thomas Touro Uptown / Carrollton Audubon, also known as University Black Pearl Broadmoor Dixon East Carrollton Freret Hollygrove Leonidas, also called West Carrollton Fontainebleau, also called Marlyville Uptown West Riverside Mid-City Bayou St. John B.W. Cooper, formerly Calliope Projects Fairgrounds Gert Town, also called Zion City Iberville Development ( Note : This area was built on the site of the infamous Storyville neighborhood. ) Mid-City St. Bernard Projects Faubourg St. John Parkview Seventh Ward Treme / Lafitte Tulane / Gravier Lakeview City Park Lakeshore / Lake Vista Lakeview Lakewood Country Club Gardens Navarre West End Gentilly Dillard Filmore Gentilly Terrace Gentilly Woods Lake Terrace / Lake Oaks Milneburg Pontchartrain Park St. Anthony Bywater Bywater Desire Area Desire Development Florida Area Florida Development Marigny St. Claude Musicians ' Village St. Roch Lower Ninth Ward Holy Cross Lower Ninth Ward New Orleans East New Orleans East Little Woods, also called Edge Lake Pines Village Plum Orchard Read Boulevard East Read Boulevard West West Lake Forest Village de L'Est Village de L'Est Michoud Venetian Isles / Lake Catherine Viavant / Venetian Isles Lake Catherine West Bank Algiers Algiers Point U.S. Naval Support Area Aurora, also called Old Aurora ; includes Walnut Bend and Huntlee Village Behrman Fischer Development McDonogh ‡, formerly called McDonoghville Tall Timbers / Brechtel New Aurora ( Includes River Park, Cut Off, and Lower Coast ) English Turn English Turn Wards 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th ( Algiers ) 16th 17th Footnotes Orleans Parish and the City of New Orleans are coextensive ‡ This populated place also has portions in an adjacent parish or parishes New Orleans metropolitan area Parishes Jefferson Orleans Plaquemines St. Bernard St. Charles St. James St. John the Baptist St. Tammany Tangipahoa Washington Major cities New Orleans Cities and towns 100k - 250k Metairie Cities and towns 25k - 100k Chalmette Kenner LaPlace Marrero Slidell Terrytown Cities and towns 10k - 25k Bogalusa Destrehan Estelle Gretna Hammond Harvey Jefferson Luling Mandeville Meraux River Ridge Timberland Westwego Woodmere Mayors of cities with populations exceeding 100,000 in Louisiana Mitch Landrieu ( D ) ( New Orleans ) Sharon Weston Broome ( D ) ( Baton Rouge ) Ollie Tyler ( D ) ( Shreveport ) Joel Robideaux ( R ) ( Lafayette ) State of Louisiana Baton Rouge ( capital ) Topics Index History Music Louisianians Constitution Governors Lieutenant Governors Secretaries of State Attorneys General Legislature Supreme Court Congressional districts Symbols Tourist attractions Seal of Louisiana Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Media Newspapers Radio TV Politics Regions Acadiana Ark - La - Tex Central Louisiana Florida Parishes Greater New Orleans Northwest Louisiana North Louisiana Southwest Louisiana Cities Alexandria Baton Rouge Bossier City Hammond Houma Kenner Lafayette Lake Charles Monroe Natchitoches New Iberia New Orleans Opelousas Ponchatoula Ruston Shreveport Slidell Sulphur CDPs Chalmette Harvey LaPlace Marrero Metairie Moss Bluff Terrytown Metros Alexandria Baton Rouge Hammond Houma -- Bayou Cane -- Thibodaux Lafayette Lake Charles Monroe New Orleans Shreveport -- Bossier City Parishes See : List of parishes in Louisiana Parishes of Louisiana Acadia Allen Ascension Assumption Avoyelles Beauregard Bienville Bossier Caddo Calcasieu Caldwell Cameron Catahoula Claiborne Concordia DeSoto East Baton Rouge East Carroll East Feliciana Evangeline Franklin Grant Iberia Iberville Jackson Jefferson Jefferson Davis LaSalle Lafayette Lafourche Lincoln Livingston Madison Morehouse Natchitoches Orleans Ouachita Plaquemines Pointe Coupee Rapides Red River Richland Sabine St. Bernard St. Charles St. Helena St. James St. John the Baptist St. Landry St. Martin St. Mary St. Tammany Tangipahoa Tensas Terrebonne Union Vermilion Vernon Washington Webster West Baton Rouge West Carroll West Feliciana Winn VIAF : 124951319 LCCN : n79007238 GND : 4042008 - 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Question: when was the city of new orleans established
Answer: Spring of 1718 (7 May has become the traditional date to mark the anniversary, but the actual day is unknown[25])