Essential Facts About The Victims of Hurricane Katrina

Many Hurricane Katrina victims faced difficult living conditions even before the storm arrived.  Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama are, respectively, the first, second, and eighth poorest states in the nation. And of the 5.8 million individuals in these states who lived in the areas struck hardest by the hurricane, more than one million lived in poverty prior to the hurricane’s onset.

The information provided below helps explain why relief efforts are so important to Katrina victims.  Many of the storm’s victims have little or no resources on which to rely in these difficult times.

Poverty and Income in the Affected States and Counties

Table 1 shows the poverty rate and median household income in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.  The table compares the data for these states to the data for other states and the nation. ^[1]

• In 2004, more than 19 percent of Louisianans were poor in 2004, far above the national poverty rate of about 13 percent, and higher than the poverty rate in all states except one.
• Mississippi had the highest state poverty rate in the nation — 21.6 percent.
• Alabama had the eighth highest rate, at 16.1 percent.
• The table also shows that the incomes of the typical (or median) household in these three states are well below the national average and are among the lowest in the nation.

Using data from the 2000 decennial census, we also calculated the poverty rates for individuals who lived in the areas hit hardest by the hurricane.  These areas —the counties and parishes that have been declared eligible for federal disaster assistance for individuals — include about two-thirds of the population of Louisiana and Mississippi and one-sixth of the population of Alabama.^[2]

• The census data indicate that 5.8 million people (in 2.1 million households) lived in these counties and parishes in 2000.

• More than 1 million of these people — or nearly one-fifth of the population affected by the hurricane — lived in poverty.

New Orleans — Poverty and Lack of a Vehicle

Of the 5.8 million people living in the areas hit hardest by Katrina, some 1.3 million lived in the New Orleans metropolitan area, with close to one-half million people living in the city of New Orleans itself.  The poverty rate in the city is exceptionally high.  The Census data indicate that more than one in four — 28 percent — of the city’s residents were living in poverty before the hurricane descended upon the city.  Of the 245 large cities in the nation (those with populations of 100,000 or more), New Orleans tied for the sixth poorest in the 2000 census.

Those who were poor in New Orleans commonly lacked their own means of transportation.  Our calculations, based on the Census data, show that more half of the poor households in New Orleans — 54 percent — did not have a car, truck, or van in 2000.  Among the elderly, the proportion was higher.  Sixty-five percent of poor elderly households in New Orleans did not have a vehicle, making it more difficult for them to escape the storm and its effects.

African Americans

The Census data also confirm that African Americans made up a disproportionate share of the hurricane’s victims.  About one of every three people who lived in the areas hit hardest by the hurricane were African American.  By contrast, one of every eight people in the nation is African American.

African Americans living in New Orleans were especially likely to be without a vehicle before the hurricane struck.  More than one in three black households in New Orleans (35 percent) — and nearly three in five poor black households (59 percent) — lacked a vehicle.  Among white non-Hispanic households in New Orleans, 15 percent lacked a vehicle.