St. Tammany NOW

St.Tammany NOW is a curated collection of the latest economic development information and business and industry insight in our community provided by St. Tammany Corporation, the economic development organization for St. Tammany Parish. St. Tammany NOW highlights who and what makes the St. Tammany business community thrive and illustrates the opportunities to diversify and fortify our economy.

In this issue, we share an overview on St. Tammany’s population and demographic makeup using the most recent parish-level data from the U.S. Census. In a threepart series called “Who is St. Tammany?,” we go in-depth into demographic, workforce and migration, and income and family trends in order to better understand our economic and population landscape. This series is part of St. Tammany Corporation’s suite of economic research publications called The AnalyST. If you find the insights in this article interesting, be sure to check out the full series at StTammanyStats.com.

Understanding who we are as a community and how we are changing helps us recognize our opportunities, needs, strengths, and areas of focus. “Who is St. Tammany?” provides a deep dive into the numbers that tell our community’s story.

Most people know that the Census Bureau releases official population counts every ten years. In 2020, the release of data from the Census was significant for understanding which places in the U.S. have grown, which have shrunk, and where people are choosing to live and work.

This information is important because it helps us make decisions at the state and local levels about how many schools and daycare centers we need, how many hospital beds we need, where we should focus resources on building and updating roads and bridges, and other important decisions until the next full Census count.

Demographic and Population Trends

We learned from the 2020 Census that in 2020, St. Tammany Parish had about 265,000 residents and was the 4th fastest growing parish in the state. Only 3 other parishes saw a higher rate of growth than we did from 2010 to 2020.

In fact, these numbers show that from 2010 to 2020, St. Tammany added more than 30,000 new residents. That’s eight new residents every single day, or about 250 per month, for ten years. That’s also like adding an entire new city the size of Slidell to St. Tammany Parish in just a decade.

In 2022, the Census Bureau released a new data set, known as the Vintage 2021 Population Estimates, which showed how populations have shifted since the 2020 Census.

These new numbers showed that St. Tammany’s population is now estimated to be nearly 270,000, and we added about 4,500 new residents in just one year. That averages out to 12 new residents every single day in 2021, or about 340 new residents each month. Adding 4,500 new residents in St. Tammany is also comparable to adding two new towns the size of Abita Springs in a single year. No other parish in Louisiana added more new residents during 2021, and it isn’t particularly close.

One of the most significant demographics changes shown in this report is the dramatic increase in the over-65 population in St. Tammany. The population over 65 saw a 37.9% increase from 2010-2020. This age group went from representing 12.7% of the population in 2010 with 29,634 residents to 18.1% of the population in 2020 with 47,710 residents. As the majority of people in this population cohort are typically retired empty-nesters, these numbers, combined with total population growth numbers, show the importance in investing in entertainment and leisure activities, higherend retail options, and healthcare infrastructure.

Workforce and Migration Trends

The next report in our series asks the questions, “When people come to St. Tammany, where do they come from? When they leave, where do they go?” Each of these questions has two answers as we look at both workers and residents in our parish—two separate groups.

Identifying commuting patterns shows us where our workforce lives and where our residents work. Census data shows that every day, more than 47,000 St. Tammany residents leave the parish to work elsewhere, from New Orleans to Baton Rouge to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Conversely, more than 37,000 people commute into St. Tammany Parish to work, and over 51,000 people live and work in St. Tammany. The mean travel time for a St. Tammany worker, regardless of where they are going to work, is 30.9 minutes.

Now looking at those who recently moved homes, the majority of both inbound and outbound migration to St. Tammany is intraregional; essentially, the data shows that people already in Louisiana are remaining in the state even if they are moving around. The top locations that people move to St. Tammany from are Jefferson, Orleans, and Tangipahoa Parishes, as well as Pearl River County, Mississippi, while the top places that people leave St. Tammany to move to are Tangipahoa Parish, Pearl River County, Jefferson Parish, and East Baton Rouge Parish. Additionally, 86.3% of St. Tammany Parish residents were living in the same household as one year prior, according to 2020 census data.

Households

The final section of our three-part series provides insights into our residents’ income and poverty levels.

Chris Masingill Chief Executive Officer St. Tammany Corporation

The 2020 Census American Community Survey reported the median household income in St. Tammany was $70,730, meaning half of households earn more and half earn less than that number. However, it’s important to note that the most common household income bracket is under $50,000, making up 36.2% of household earners. St. Tammany’s median income is 10% higher than the nation’s median household income and 40% higher than Louisiana’s median household income. Further, St. Tammany has the second highest median household income in the state, second to Ascension Parish’s median of $82,594.

St. Tammany has the lowest rate of those living in poverty when compared to state and national averages, and it ranks the second lowest of all parishes with a rate of 10%. This low rate continues the trend seen over the past three decades, although it is important to note that 26,239 of residents in our community are considered persons living in poverty.

The information shared in these reports is illuminating for a few reasons. It shows us what our parish looks like, how we compare to similar communities across the state and country, and what we could look like in the future.

In our state, only a handful of parishes did actually grow over the last decade, so it’s important to view our shifts as a positive. We live in a great place where people consistently want to live, and there are a lot of opportunities that come with that characteristic. Getting a fresh look at our demographic makeup also helps us move forward with strategic planning and prepare for more sustainable longterm growth.

St. Tammany Corporation continues to be a resource hub for businesses and consistently shares timely, relevant information related to our economic landscape and upcoming business resource programming on our online platforms. Stay connected with St. Tammany Corporation on Facebook at @StTammanyCorporation, Twitter at @ StTammanyCorp, our website at StTammanyCorp.org, and our data and research platform at StTammanyStats. com, where the three-part economic research series “Who is St. Tammany?,” along with other quarterly and periodic reports, can be found.

Elizabeth Lee is the lead staff contributor for this article.