Dear friends and colleagues,
The economies of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Houma-Thibodaux metros are increasingly interconnected.
While official federal statistics define these metros as separate, new commuter data demonstrates that these regions are becoming one Super Region where labor is pooled and innovation is catalyzed. Specifically, the number of cross-metro commuters between New Orleans and its adjacent metros grew 26 percent between 2004 and 2014, suggesting that the workforce of Southeast Louisiana is increasingly integrated.
In an ever more globalized economy, regional collaboration is critical to achieve the scale needed to compete. Leaders across greater New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Houma-Thibodaux have come together to form the Southeast Super Region Committee to collaborate on economic development strategies—a sign of the escalating sophistication and alignment of regional leadership.
Much can be learned from The Research Triangle in North Carolina—first envisioned in the 1950s as a way to strategically invest the meager resources of a poor state. Leaders in North Carolina invested heavily in higher education and transportation across the Triangle. This long term strategy yielded today’s Research Triangle—an economic powerhouse that has attracted billions of dollars of investment from major corporations, and changed the economic trajectory of the region.
To learn more about how collaboration across the three metros in Southeast Louisiana will be essential to the region’s long-term prosperity and sustainability, check out our latest infographic at:
And for data on the number of commuters from one parish to another, be sure to download the accompanying Excel sheet!
Bringing you the data you need to make informed decisions,
The Data Center team
Keisha Smith, Allison Plyer, Bernardo Espinosa, Caroline Heffernan, and Dabne Whitemore
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