Population estimates for 2007 show a 2.5 percent decline from pre-Katrina levels in Pearl River, Stone, George, Jackson, Harrison and Hancock counties. By 2012, the population is expected to increase more than 7 percent over the current numbers, according to the Gulf Coast Business Council.
About 2,000 people who called Long Beach home on Aug. 29, 2005, have not come back. The city is brining in 20% less revenue than pre-Katrina. The story is the same for Waveland, Pass Christian and Bay St. Louis. About 8,700 people who used to live in these towns have not returned. (That's more than the entire population of Bay St. Louis before the storm hit.)
The main reason cited is that the insurance is so high that homeowners can no longer get mortgages. Many residents were looking at post-Katrina house notes that were double what they were pre-Katrina.
Rental rates have also risen 20% since the storm - pricing many out of renting a house, much less owning one. And, unfortunately, salaries have not risen with the increasing cost of living on the Coast.
Two things are doing well, though: casinos and condos.
Comments