Report finds New Orleans population up

Nearly two-thirds of New Orleans’ pre-Hurricane Katrina population has returned, a new report estimates.

But Greg Rigamer, the demographer who compiled the report, said Tuesday that he expected the growth seen since July 2006 to plateau within the next year as the sense of urgency to return lessens.

Rigamer said an estimated 288,000 people were living in New Orleans in October. In July 2005, the month before Katrina hit and flooded 80% of the city, the population was estimated at 455,000.

Rigamer’s report was based on utility hookups. The rebound appears to be “a bunch of decisions made independently by people,” Rigamer said, and not driven by a single event drawing people back.