New Orleans (pronounced [nu ˈor·lɪnz] or in American English, with many speakers of the Southern dialect (rare in the city) pronouncing it French La Nouvelle-Orléans, pronounced in standard accent is a major United States port city and historically the largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana along the Mississippi River. The city is bordered by Lake Pontchartrain to the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the east and is coextensive with Orleans Parish. It is named after Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Regent of France, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. New Orleans is known for its multicultural heritage as well as its music and cuisine. It is considered the birthplace of jazz.

Even though the Census Bureau is aware of the effects of Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Census Bureau's 2000 population count for New Orleans of 484,674 is the last official number on record for New Orleans. Most current population numbers are estimates, seeing as though it is next to impossible to determine exactly how many people are currently living in the city as of December 2006 (seeing as residents have come back and thousands more Hispanics currently reside in the region than in July 2005). While it is not an official number and mainly an estimate, the Census Bureau estimated the population of New Orleans to be 250,000. An alternative estimate is the Louisiana Recovery Authority count of 200,665. Janet Murguia, president and chief executive officer of the National Council of La Raza, the largest national Hispanic civil-rights and advocacy organization in the United States stated that there could be up to 120,000 Hispanic workers in New Orleans and according to most population estimates would push the city's current population to about 320,000 or possibly more(this estimate is seen as pure conjecture since no accurate count of the hispanic population has been attempted).